J.D. Salinger's classic short book, The Catcher in the Rye, made Salinger and the novel famous. It is about two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, masterfully depicted by Salinger as his original unique "hero."
Early Life and Education of J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, 1919, in New York City to a Jewish father, a successful food importer, and a Scotch-Irish mother. Salinger attended good schools but did not achieve high distinction, rather, below average grades.
At 15 years old, he was sent to the Valley Forge Military School, where he acted in school plays, edited the yearbook, and wrote the class song and several short stories.
Many incidents in The Catcher in the Rye were based on events at the school. The novel is best known for its first-person narrative that shares some qualities with Salinger's other work: an ear for colloquial speech, which conveys situations and the sympathy for precocious youths.
Post-Graduation Life
After graduating in 1936, he drifted for a year then attended university at Columbia but didn't graduate. Three year later, he enrolled in a short-story class run by Whit Burnett, who edited Story magazine. Burnett encouraged him and published one of his short stories in Story when Salinger was 21. Heartened by this, Salinger sold several stories to other magazines, until he was drafted by the army in 1842 to fight in World War II. The experience of war influenced his work.
The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield, the 16-year-old teenager in Catcher in the Rye who narrates his own story of rebellion, starts with his suspension from school and finishes in an institution, crammed with hypersensitive observations on everything he notices around New York City, the capital of what he called "phoniness" that terribly unnerves him.
Salinger's Other Stories
Unlike Catcher in the Rye, not much happens in Salinger's other stories. He is more concerned with what people say and the environment in which their lives revolve. There is also a sense of boredom, frustration and anxiety in these later pieces.
Nine Stories describes the Glass family, who also appear in the rest of his later work, including Franny and Zooey.
Later Years
Salinger's literary fame is overshadowed by the fact that he prefers to live a recluse in New Hampshire. Some people claim he still writes.
Works by J.D. Salinger
- The Catcher in the Rye, 1951
- For Esmé, With Love and Squalor, 1953
- Nine Stories, 1953
- Franny and Zooey, 1961
- Raise High the Roof Beam, 1963
- The Complete Uncollected Short Stories of J.D. Salinger, 1974
Sources:
Goring, Rosemary (editor), Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994
McGovern, Una (editor), Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002
Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. Carlton Books Limited, 1997
 |
