A brief introduction to J.D. Salinger

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• A brief introduction to J.D. Salinger

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Background on Salinger

• Jerome David Salinger, born New York City, Jan.
  1, 1919, established his reputation on the basis
  of a single novel, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
• The principal character, Holden Caulfield,
  epitomized the growing pains of a generation of
  high school and college students. The public
  attention that followed the success of the book
  led Salinger to move from New York to the remote
  hills of Cornish, N.H.

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Background on Salinger

• Before The Catcher in the Rye he had published
  only a few short stories one of them, "A Perfect
  Day for Bananafish."
• Appeared in The New Yorker.
• Introduced readers to Seymour Glass, a character
  who subsequently figured in Franny and Zooey
  (1961) and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenter
  and Seymour An Introduction (1963), Salinger's
  only other published books.
• Of his 35 published short stories, those which
  Salinger wishes to preserve are collected in Nine
  Stories (1953).

Wake up! Some of these will be on the quiz.
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Salingers Life

• Salinger was the son of a Jewish father and a
  Christian mother, and, like Holden Caulfield, the
  hero of The Catcher in the Rye, he grew up in New
  York City, attending public schools and a
  military academy.
• After brief periods at New York and Columbia
  universities he devoted himself entirely to
  writing, and his stories began to appear in
  periodicals in 1940.

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Salingers Life

• After his return from service in the U.S. Army
  (1942-46), Salinger's name and writing style
  became increasingly associated with "The New
  Yorker" magazine

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Samples from the other works by Salinger

• The Catcher in the Rye
• Franny Zooey

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Salinger

• The reclusive habits of Salinger in his later
  years made his personal life a matter of
  speculation among devotees, while his small
  literary output was a subject of controversy
  among critics

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• Catcher in the Rye

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Setting Characters

• Early 50s
• Begins at New England Prep School, transitions to
  NYC
• Holden (narrator/protagonist)
• Allie (younger brother who died of leukemia 3
  years earlier)
• Pheobe (younger sister)
• Ackley (lives next door in his dorm)
• Stradlater (roommate)

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Quotes from Catcher

• Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one
  plays according to the rules. Yes, sir. I know
  it is. I know it. Game, my ass. Some game. If
  you get on the side where all the hot-shots are,
  then its a game, all rightIll admit that. But
  if you get on the other side, where there arent
  any hot-shots, then whats a game about it?
  Nothing. No game

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Quotes from Catcher

• . . . . Im standing on the edge of some crazy
  cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch
  everybody if they start to go over the cliffI
  mean if theyre running and they dont look where
  theyre going I have to come out from somewhere
  and catch them. Thats all Id do all day. Id
  just be the catcher in the rye and all.

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• JD Salinger Web sites Info.

•  http//www.levity.com/corduroy/salinger.htm

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• Vocabulary for
• For Esme With Love and Squalor

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Vocabulary for For Esme With Love and Squalor

• squalor (n.) filth misery
• gregarious (adj.) sociable
• myopic (adj.) short-sighted or lacking
  discernment
• queue (n.) a waiting line of people or vehicles
• mirth (n.) gladness gaiety

• trifle (n.) something of slight importance or
  very little value
• streptococcus (n.) any of various round, often
  pathogenic bacteria
• armistice (n.) truce a temporary cessation of
  hostilities by mutual consent
• dissonant (n.) harsh or disagreeable combination
  of sounds discord

Wake up! Some of these will be on the quiz.