Probably no novel has created such controversy in the classroom as J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. While some hail the novel as the masterpiece of 20th century American fiction, others denigrate it as an exploitation of the shallowness and self-centeredness of youth.

The Catcher in the Rye is neither extreme.   It is, however, an important work because it gives a credible voice to the angst of the adolescent and demands that that voice be heard.  It speaks to the anxiety of the adolescent caught in the current of becoming an adult and having difficulty coping with all that the adult world means.   It gives insight into the psyche of a troubled Holden and, in so doing, grabs the reader and demands attention be paid.

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