J.D. Salinger and Post-Modernism

1. J.D. Salinger and Post-Modernism English 11 Honors

2. Post-Modernism • 1946-Present • Viewed WWII, with the Holocaust and the dropping of the A-bomb, as undercutting assumptions of life’s meaning • Influenced by studies of media and language and by the explosive growth of information technology • Some loss of trust in the artist’s ability to access the irrational and return with a sense of renewal and greater meaning

3. Post-Modernism (cont.) • Less confidence that the work of art is unique, coupled with a sense that culture endlessly duplicates and copies itself • Greater interest in the work of art as a process that reflects on its own making as it evolves • Loss of confidence in the Renaissance notion that a great work of art is immortal and ensures immortality for its author • Loss of belief in the meaningful dividing line between “high” culture and “low” culture, so that in Pop Art, the subject matter of fine art can be a cartoon

4. Post-Modernism (cont.) • Writers have explored new literary forms and techniques, composing works from dialogue alone, creating works that blend fiction and nonfiction, and experimenting with the physical appearance of their work. • Other writers, using more traditional forms, have focused on capturing the essence of contemporary life in the content of their works, addressing the impersonal and commercial nature of today’s world.

5. Why the shift in writing? • Culture and society play into this change. • After WWII, an explosion in growth of the idea of “suburbia”, the automotive industry, commercial television, the notion of “leisure time” came into fashion. • All of this post-war growth has led to the ideas with which we live today and the ways in which we express ourselves – telecommuting, fax, internet.

6. What that shift means… • We see the merging of notions from Realism and Romanticism in Post-Modern literature. • We see the merging of fiction and non-fiction as well. • We see the emergence of young adult literature within our culture. • And, we see the rise in reverence to poets and playwrights.

7. J.D. Salinger and The Catcher in the Rye • Reclusive man later in life (bought a 90-acre wooded compound in New Hampshire after living in NYC up through the craze over this piece of literature) • Published Catcher in 1951 • Sympathetic to the voice of adolescence – alienated sense of morality and distrust of the adult world are echoed sentiments in the piece • Reading this novel used to be considered an essential “rite of passage” for America’s teens – similar to acquiring one’s driver’s licensce

8. J. D. Salinger (cont.) • Born in Manhattan Jan. 1, 1919 • Died Jan. 2010 – he was 91 yrs old • Studied in prep schools – successfully flunking out of them – he wound up at Valley Forge Military Academy to finish his high school career • Never fully “degreed”, he spent time in writing programs at NYU, Ursinus College (where it was noted that he dressed eccentrically walking around campus spewing how he would write the “Great American Novel”, and Columbia University

9. Cross over into Post-Modernism through The Catcher in the Rye • Salinger speaks of real life events in his stories, basing characters on his own family • Speaks of specific time period (similarly to Gatsby, even references Gatsby) • Transcends time in the concept of introducing a teenaged narrator – allows for the idea of the “teenaged brain” to be explored in literature, as it had begun to be studied in the fields of psychology and sociology • First “kid voice” of note in American literature since Huckleberry Finn – make note of the 1st line and its likeness to Twain’s work