The Catcher in the Rye In 1951, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye was published and available to the America. This book was immediately the focus of controversy and debate among critics. However, this book is still around and taught to many high school students all over the country. In 1951, this book was absorbed a lot differently than it would be today. Many critics saw Holden Caulfield as a depressed adolescent facing and …showed first 75 words of 529 total…

…showed last 75 words of 529 total…I believe that readers in the 21st century see much less controversial material in The Catcher in the Rye because the readers are exposed to a lot of the problems Holden faces. This is also a reason why this book has had so much success. That’s the difference between today’s criticism and 50’s criticism; we can identify and relate to the problems Holden encounters. This makes the novel not as prone to controversy.