When one reads J.D. Salinger’s work, they may not know that his writings are affected by how he lived his life. He shows relationship between him (childhood) and the characters in his writings, like connecting how he was as a child and making the characters act very similar. Salinger’s work is also based on what was going on or what he was going through while he was writing. Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in New York, New York, right after World War I ended. He only had an older sister named Doris and his father owned a cheese and ham import business. His family was Rabbinic which is a form of Judaism in which it reinterprets the Jewish concepts. As a child he was not an excelling student in school, in fact he flunked out of McBurney
Salinger’s use of the literary device of diction supports his message of craving maturity versus acting upon it. On pages 116 to 117, Salinger uses words such as “blood,”
Intro- Catcher in the Rye a book written by J.D Salinger writes about a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield who lost his brother from Leukemia.
Another similarity is when salinger was young he wanted to become a drama writer and actor, and in the story Holden’s brother was a Hollywood writer. In the story Salinger wrote, “ .
Salinger’s early adult life revolved around his experiences in WWII. In 1942, Salinger was drafted for the war and fought in Europe. While J.D. Salinger was writing The Catcher in the Rye, he was experiencing difficult times in his life. Salinger was married twice and both marriages ended up with a divorce. Salinger’s first wife was Sylvia, which divorced him after a year of marriage. In 1955, Salinger remarried Claire Douglas; they had a daughter together in 1955 and a son in 1960 (Miller 552). Salinger and Claire Douglas marriage also didn 't last long and ended in a divorce. Both Salinger’s childhood and adulthood influenced his writing career.
Salinger highlights the struggle after a loved one’s death through the protagonist, Holden, who accounts the memories of his brother Allie: “He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair. I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them” (Salinger 38). At an adolescent age, Holden had to go through the tragedy of his brother's death, where he demonstrated strange behavior due to his emotional instability. Holden had ruined his friendship with Stradlater, who’d asked Holden to write him an English prompt where Holden wrote about Allie’s glove, but had disappointed Stradlater, thus Holden tore the paper. Holden became furious due to the connection Holden had with his brother, he portrayed the misunderstanding that society and adolescents have of one another after a
The Catcher in the Rye was J.D. Salinger’s first step onto the literary playing field. This commencing status left Salinger, as a serious author, unique as a sort of liberated agent, not confine to one or more schools of critics, resembling many of his contemporaries were.
He was the youngest in his family with his parents having a thriving import business. Despite his apparent intellect Salinger flunked out of school, his parents ent him to Valley Forge Military Academy. After graduating from Valley Forge his father encouraged him to head to Europe to learn another language and learn the art of the import business. Upon returning home Salinger mad another attempt at college at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and taking night classes at Columbia University. There Salinger met Professor Whit Burnett who also happened to be the editor of Story magazine. Burnett sensed Salinger's talent for writing and pushed him to use his creativity to the very limit. His work was finally gaining attention until WWII following the attack on pearl harbor he was drafted into the military serving from 1942-’44. During his time in the military Salinger continued to write, assembling chapters for his new novel who contained a very complicated teenager afraid to grow up. After the war Salinger was checked into a hospital for trauma and suffering a nervous breakdown. Not many people are sure what happened around that time but soon after he married a woman named Sylvia their time together was short only eight months. He married again in 1995 with Claire Douglas they had two children together, Margaret and
Salinger uses the characterization of Holden Caulfield to send a message regarding the problems children face growing up, such as struggling to find one’s identity and failure to properly interact with other people, can create a permanent effect on their life making a connection to the real world, and everyone in it, nearly impossible.
Salinger was born in New York in 1919 and wrote The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, and the values in the book reflected values in America at that time. A major value which society followed during that era
When J.D. Salinger went to war, he not only affected his own life, but also the life of Holden Caulfield. Similarities between Salinger and Caulfield are too numerous to write off as coincidence: both went to and flunked out of prep schools, and both had a penchant for language classes. Salinger’s life greatly impacted the plot and style of his works because Salinger used himself as inspiration for Holden, as demonstrated through “I’m Crazy”, “Slight Rebellion off Madison”, and The Catcher in the Rye.
When one finds themselves in a reader’s position, they search for things in the novel that they can relate to. J. D. Salinger wrote a story that contained countless topics that people, past, present and future, can relate to in several ways. The novel follows the story of a troubled boy named Holden who leaves school due to his poor academic performance, an altercation with his roommate, and complications with his emotions due to the traumatic loss of his brother. He quickly understands how his narrow view of the world will lead him into trouble when he finds himself alone. The reader accompanies Holden through his stressful experiences
Salinger's writing has influenced several generations. So many could relate to the main character in Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, an antihero who spoke like a real teenager and rebelled against conformity. As a staff writer for Spinner.com points outs, Caulfield was punk rock long before punk rock existed. (Spinner.com). This is the reason why so many
Salinger’s many failed relationships in his lives, from his parents to love interests, are hinted throughout Holden’s life and his character. Salinger’s father was from a Jewish descent while his mother was from a Catholic descent; however Salinger didn’t know about this until his bar mitzvah. Salinger had problematic issues with his father like how his father basically disapproved of his son in general (for example: participation in plays). It was even described that “J.D. skipped his father’s funeral and later stopped eating meat” (stated by www.nndb.com). Salinger’s relationship with his parents were broken because of the trust broken by his mother and the
Salinger was born in New York City an attended public school until he switched to the exclusive McBurney School. In attending this school, Salinger was called an “academically unexceptional student”. After this he was sent to the Valley Forge Military Academy. During his time there he added to the literary magazine and yearbook. After this he went on to NYU for a short amount of time.
Salinger, J(erome) D(avid) (1919- ), American novelist and short story writer, known for his stories dealing with the intellectual and emotional struggles of adolescents who are alienated from the empty, materialistic world of their parents. Salinger's work is marked by a profound sense of craftsmanship, a keen ear for dialogue, and a deep awareness of the frustrations of life in America after World War II (1939-1945).