by Daniel Sullivan
This Webquest asks students to first become investigative journalists who will research one of the most controversial texts from the 20th century, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Using their findings, students will create an original digital presentation to address the controversy and express their opinion.
Introduction
The Catcher in the Rye is famous for being one of the most banned books in America. At the heart of this project is the question of what it means to have and exercise the right to free speech. .This right can be considered one of the most essential elements of a free society, one of the most essential elements to a functional democracy, and one of the defining characteristics of life as we know it in the United States of America. There is often a fine line between censorship and freedom of speech, between protecting the public from obscenity and freedom of expression. Where do you draw the line? Can you allows art to imitate the often raw nature of life. One of the single most controversial novels ever written was The Catcher in the Rye. The book is recognized simultaneously as one of the single most studied books in schools across the nation and one of the single most censored.This Webquest will challenge students to explore this controversy in a creative way.