A brief introduction to J.D. Salinger

1. A brief introduction to J.D. Salinger

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Salinger’s 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.

5. Salinger’s 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

6. Samples from the other works by Salinger • The Catcher in the Rye • Franny & Zooey

7. 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

8. Catcher in the Rye

9. Setting & Characters • Early 50’s • 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)

10. 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 it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game

11. Quotes from Catcher • . . . . I’m 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 cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.

12. JD Salinger Web sites & Info. • http://www.levity.com/corduroy/salinger.htm

13. Vocabulary for “For Esme – With Love and Squalor”

14. 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 Vocabulary for “For Esme – With Love and Squalor” Wake up! Some of these will be on the quiz.