Education: Rye on the Rocks

After scanning a single page of J. D. Salinger's 1951 The Catcher in the Rye, the most avidly admired novel on modern American campuses, Tulsa's School Superintendent Charles C. Mason had one comment: "Shocking!" Mason was jarred when eight angry parents shoved the book under his nose and bitterly complained that English Teacher Beatrice Levin had assigned it to their 16-year-olds at Edison High School. The parents were not taken with Novelist Salinger's 16-year-old hero, a sensitive boy named Holden Caulfield who goes underground for 48 hours in Manhattan to escape insensitive...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!