The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye question  Why is
CITR so Durable? Monty J Heying Monty J (last edited Mar 28,
2013 01:52PM ) Jan 10, 2013 12:16PM (Thanks to Philip for
posting such an intriguing question.)  To answer the question it
may be useful to compare The Catcher in the Rye and four other
books that have sold well over time: Lord of the Flies, To Kill
a Mockingbird, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The Outsiders.
Here are some factors to consider:  1) Marketing - A strategy
that targets young adults may account for some of it. Fresh
young minds are more malleable and haven't had time for
prejudice and political/cultural bias to seize up their gears.
2) Academic Entrenchment - can be a factor. It's hard to make
that list, but once a book gets accepted in the academic
community, it's equally hard to get removed.  3) Writing Style -
Writng quality seems to be a secondary consideration, given the
range exhibited in our sample of five. In our sample,I found
Hinton and Golding to be well below