Is "The Cather In The Rye" a dangerous book?

Question

Did J.D.Salinger write this book about himself, and was it a stab at mankind? Although this book is written in a very simple manner, its depths are frightening. I was influenced by this book when I first read it. In fact, it changed some of my lifetime opinions on humanity.

And yes, I know controversial assasins like Lee Harvey Oswald, and Mark Chapman had the book on their person when arrested.

No, it does not make Jodie Foster dangerous, but again the would be assasin of Reagan, John Hinkley had an obsession with the cather in the rye. I know books don't kill, just like guns don't kill, but that argument is just too easy to accept. All these people had the same obsession, and all these people were/are dangerous, so obviously this book strikes a note somewhere in a narcissistic mind.

Answer 1

It all depends on who you ask. I think the problem with Catcher in the Rye is that we read it to early in life. I know I read it as required reading as a sophmore in high school and I hated it, but then as a freshman in college, I picked it up again, wanting to see if I could figure out the hype, and I loved it.

Do I think it's dangerous? No. It's literature. All literature could be considered dangerous if people decided to take every word in it, and apply it to day to day life. But that's not how it's supposed to be. The fact is, Salinger probably was right about mankind anyhow. The only thing I might see as dangerous is Holden's apathy towards his own education. This coming from the fact that his expulsion doesn't really bother him in the least and he's still very intelligent. But it was a different time.

In summation, no.

Answer 2

Yes Mark Chapman (killer of John Lennon) was obsessed with the book; I had never heard this of Lee Oswald, who mostly read political pamphlets. John Hinckley was obsessed with Jodie Foster, but does that make her a dangerous person? Really, all assassins and attempted assassins have had some obsession.

Salinger did not write the book about himself. He spent long months in the end-of-the-war years frequenting teenage hangouts, to learn how young people talked and how they thought. It is a marvellous creation of a first-person persona who has little to do with the author's own history.

The book has become an essential coming-of-age novel for intelligent young people beginning to question the values of their place and time. It was not a stab at mankind but a stab at society as it existed in Holden's experience. Remember, Holden was a rich kid in New York, so Catcher's universal appeal makes it a great book.

Answer 3

the public school system is afraid of influential things. think about it...they don't want things to really influence the students, they might have to take responsibility for that later. why would it be dangerous? look, everything you witness in this world influences you whether you realize it or not. this book might have consciously influenced you because you somehow found it shocking in some way. but it's the same thing as blaming television and music for school shootings. it's just not that simple. i could watch something or read something and you could watch or read the same thing and we could be affected in completely opposite ways. you have to take into account personality. don't you think lee harvey oswald might have been a little "out there" to begin with? (not to mention the controversy surrounding his guilt anyway) and mark david chapman...well...i've never read the catcher in the rye and if john lennon were alive today, i'd probably want to shoot him myself. (not a fan of that hippie b.s.) my point is, what do you think the answer is, censorship? as if burning this book would solve society's problems? right.

Answer 4

Knowledge, books, thoughts, ideas. These things carry with them absolutely no inherent danger. It is what we as humans do with them that makes them dangerous. You can read the most 'dangerous' book (which some say is the Bible), but if you don't act on it, then how dangerous is it really? And to take it even further, if you learn a lesson from the book about humanity and how to respect your fellow man, then you have turned danger into something that has actually made the world a better place.

Thoughts don't kill people, people who don't think kill people.

Answer 5

Yes, after reading this book the summer before my junior year in high school, I became severely depressed. I didn't realize it at the time, but the pessimism crept into my subconscious and altered my mental well-being. It took me 4 years to even realize I had depression when I learned about it in my college class. I mentioned to my girlfriend about how this book affected me. She was shocked and told me that it sort of scared her because she remembered hearing about how Oswald and Chapman had this book on them prior to their crimes.

Young minds should be warned about the pessimistic view this book has and how it can affect readers.

Answer 6

Not necessarily. Although Holden's hatred for "phonies" might appeal to a few nutcases. There are a few people who might take this book as a reason to kill anyone who they think is a "phony".

Answer 7

maximum prisons and jails have arrangements to skim the earnings from guides. guides get banned if the guards don't get a kickback from the writer. i'm uncertain if it is genuine of that distinctive penal complex.

Answer 8

No, I don't think you'll find too many suicide bombers yelling "Holden Caufield is great!" as they destroy themselves and those around them. My answer is a resounding 'no'!