J D Salinger Jerome David Salinger Born January
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger • Born - January 1, 1919 - Manhattan, NY • Parents were wealthy • Didn’t have a great relationship with his dad • Went to prep schools, military school, Europe, and college in NY
J. D. Salinger • Born in NYC to parents Sol and Miriam: father was Jewish, mother, Catholic • Jerome David Salinger • Recognized as one of the most popular and influential authors of American fiction during the second half of the twentieth century. • Has, by his own choice, remained out of the public eye for most of his life.
Salinger’s Life • Salinger’s work reflects a great awareness of the struggles of adolescents who are alienated from the materialistic world of their parents. • His only novel, Catcher in the Rye, stays relevant because many adolescents identify with the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. • Salinger’s craft is marked by keen dialogue, and an awareness of the frustrations of life in America post. WWII.
Experiences in War • Drafted into the Infantry in WWII • Involved in the invasion of Normandy • Involved in a useless battle at Hürtgenwald – Witnessed atrocities of war • Suffered from PTSS (post-traumatic stress syndrome), a. k. a. “shell shock”
Publications • Early short stories published in magazines – – Story Saturday Evening Post Esquire The New Yorker • Stories eventually published in collections – Franny and Zooey – Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters – Nine Stories
Publications • The Catcher in the Rye – Salinger’s only novel (that we know of) – Published in 1951 – Immediate success - quickly reached #4 on the New York Times Bestseller List – Book-of-the-Month Club selection – Never out of print - still sells 250, 000 copies annually
After Success • Couldn’t stand the attention he received from Catcher. • Lived the rest of his life as a recluse in New Hampshire • In his last interview, he said that he loved to write, but he wrote for himself only
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