Yes for all except The Sun Also Rises (I might have read it for school, but I don’t think so) and The Color Purple (wtf? I’m probably not being fair, I admit). I’m also probably the only one on this board who hates Slaughterhouse 5.
The Sun Also Rises - Maybe. I think so.
Catcher in the Rye - Yes
The Great Gatsby - Yes
The Color Purple - No
Catch-22 - Yes
To Kill a Mockingbird - No
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Yes
Slaughterhouse-5 - No
When I saw the thread title, I thought Huck Finn.
My wife used to teach high school American History, and one summer she put Catch-22 on the suggested reading list (not mandatory, just a suggestion). A bunch of parents complained about the language, wrote a letter to the school board, and she got in trouble for it. The teacher’s union stood up for her. I don’t think she was officially reprimanded but the book was stricken from future reading lists. It was in the newspapers. My point is, if that attitude is widespread it might hurt Catch-22’s chances of bing the ‘most widely read’ classic. (On the other hand, we like to think the bruhaha encouraged kids to read it who otherwise wouldn’t have).
All on your original list. My list of likelies would include Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath (and I hate Steinbeck, but have read them both).
I wouldn’t include DaVinci Code because I think classics need to withstand the test of time. I’m not sure Catcher has or will, and Gatsby very nearly didn’t. Gone with the Wind is an interesting case, because its popular - but IMHO not well written enough to be classic (DaVinci Code also fails on well written). In other words, by using the word classic, you get to make a judgement call - where simply bestselling, most popular, or most read wouldn’t involve one. (popular, bestselling and most read would include Tom Clancy, Steven King).
I agree that The DaVinci Code is too recent, but I’m not sure that classic has anything to do with well-written. Classic equals “Is it still read?”