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The Praises and Criticisms of J.D. Salinger's //The Catcher in the Rye// by Eric Lomazoff This author presented both options of Catcher in the Rye, people who liked it and people who disliked it. J.D. Salinger wrote two short stories, "I'm Crazy" and "Slight Rebellion off Madison," were published in periodicals during the 1940's, and introduced Holden Caulfield, the main character of //The Catcher in the Rye.// Salinger used teenage slang to make the story more realistic. The book reflects issues relevant to the youth of 1940’s and 50’s and still today. Holden's character, the idea that his voice was typical of a teenager, never childish or written down to that age level //The Catcher in the Rye// has been banned continually from schools, libraries, and bookstores due to its profanity, sexual subject matter, and rejection of some traditional American ideals. A larger field of critics at the time of //The Catcher in the Rye//'s publication in 1951 took a positive view of the novel. For example, Chicago Tribune reviewer Paul Engle commented that the story was "emotional without being sentimental, dramatic without being melodramatic, and honest without simply being obscene"   "'The Catcher in the Rye' is a book told by the character Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year old high school drop out. By failing all but one of his school subjects, he manages to escape the highly structured academic environment and the demands placed upon him by teachers and other students. Before he decides to face up to his parents, he roams around late 1940's New York and encounters two parallel worlds: one of prostitutes, sleezy bar owners, bums and alcoholics and one of kids on merry-go rounds and his own childhood memories. Even though Holden's emotional instability and lack of direction in life is rather saddening, it is a extremely funny book, especially relating to his antagonism towards society's "phonieness" and the dialogue he has with other characters. " J. Hatton, Resident Scholar