JD Salinger Essay Research Paper Welcome to

J.D. Salinger Essay, Research Paper

Welcome to a thorough report on the life of Jerome David Salinger. It will outline his life from birth to the present. It will also discuss some of his better known literary works. Information about his early life, and family, schooling, and present condition can also be found within.

Jerome David Salinger, better know as J. D. Salinger, Was born in New York City, on the days of January 1, 1919. His father was Sol Salinger, and his mother, Miriam Jillich. His mother was Scotch-Irish and changed her name from Marie, to Miriam to fit better into her new family. Sol Salinger’s father was an Orthodox Judaism rabbi, born in Cleveland, Ohio, and abandoned the faith to become a ham importer. His sister, Doris, was eight years older than him, and played a key part several of Salinger’s later characters.

Following the role of a later character Holden Caulfield, Salinger started in a public grammar school, then enrolled in McBurney School, a private school in Manhattan, along with several others in the area. Young Salinger did well in school, but his weakness was in arithmetic. Salinger showed an early interest in drama, voted most popular actor at a 1930 summer camp in Harrison, Maine. Our subject later belonged to the Valley Forge Military Academy Glee Club, and Mask and Spur (a dramatic organization).

In 1934 Salinger enrolled in Valley Forge Military Academy. There his IQ was tested at 115 points, an above average score for his age. Salinger scored well in his classes, averaging a B in his studies. Our author found a place for himself as a literary editor for the academy yearbook his senior year. “While it cannot how much was contributed anonymously to this book, Salinger signed a three-stanza poetic tribute that has since been set to music and is still sung by the cadets at their last formation before graduation” (French 22). Working under his sheets by flashlight, Salinger began writing short stories during this time. Salinger graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in June of 1936.

After his graduation he attended a summer session at New York University, the travels briefly to Vienna, and Poland with his father while learning the ham importing business. Salinger never took over his father’s business, but did manage to learn perfect his German speaking skills.

Autumn of 1938, Salinger enrolled in Ursinus College. For the following nine weeks he wrote a column in the local weekly newspaper. Salinger’s first publication was “The Young Folks,” which was printed in Story in March of 1940. This evidentially got some attention to Salinger, because later the next year, Collier’s, Esquire, and New Yorker all wanted a piece too. Salinger had finally reached the well-paying mass magazines.

Then in 1941, he wrote a letter showing his desire to join the military to Milton G. Baker, an adjutant at Valley Forge Military Academy. Our subject was not immediately given a fighting position due to a cardiac condition. Salinger was said to have the duty of correcting papers at a flight school for a while until the health standards were lowered. Then Salinger attended Officers, First Sergeants, and Instructors School of the Signal Corps. After that, he applied for Officers’ Candidate School. In 1943 he was transferred to the Army Counter-Intelligence Corps. Again in 1945, mingled with his military duties, this was one of Salinger’s most productive years. Salinger had stories in Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, and New Yorker.

In 1946, Salinger’s second Holden Caulfield accepted for publication, but mysteriously withdrawn by Salinger. The next year, our author redeemed himself with a debut in Mademoiselle. Published was “A Young Girl in 1941 with No Waist at All.”

1948 was Salinger’s most impressive year with a New Yorker publication of “A perfect Day for Bannanafish.” Others were published in Best American Short Stories of 1949, Good Housekeeping, and more in New Yorker. Sometime later that year, he also moved to Westport, Connecticut.

In 1950 Salinger makes his movie appearance, with “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut.”

“The Samuel Goldwyn studios had converted “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut,” to “My Foolish Heart,” an “adult” romance staring popular Susan Hayward, and Dana Andrews.”(French 27). The following year was also a landmark for Salinger with the July 16 publication of The Catcher in the Rye. “In contsast to the selfless hero, Salinger has created a selfless heroine.”(Belcher and Lee 109). This Timeless book was hardly read until two years after its printing. On October 21, the up-and-coming book reached its peak of forth for only twenty-nine weeks.

Shortly after this Valley Forge Military Academy selected him for their 1952 distinguished alumni of the year award. While his sister had to accept it for him, he wrote them a nice thank you letter from sunny Mexico. Upon returning from Mexico, he moves to somewhat of a complex in Cornish, New Hampshire. There he meets his future bride, Claire Douglas.

Salinger was interviewed by a schoolgirl from a nearby town’s newspaper. This interview was intended to be rather low-key and apparently the Eagle, or the interviewer, sold it to a major publication. Salinger was furious and didn’t speak to the press again until 1974.

In 1954 Salinger and Claire Douglas get married on February 17. “Franny” got