Jerome David Salinger

Early Life Born in Manhattan, New York on January 1, 1919 into a Jewish family Attended a military academy during high school, where he began to write stories Attended college at New York University and at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania but dropped out of both Published a story for the first time in 1940 – “The Young Folks” A story about aimless and shallow youths in New York City

WWII In 1942, Salinger was drafted into the Army Present at Utah Beach on D-Day, in the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Hürtgen Forest During the war, had the opportunity to meet with Hemingway, who remarked "Jesus, he has a helluva talent." In April 1945 he was among the first Americans to enter a liberated concentration camp After the war he was hospitalized for a few weeks for “combat stress reaction” He later told his daughter: “You never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live.”

Finding Fame In 1948, the The New Yorker published Salinger’s short story, “A Perfect Day for Banana Fish”, which deals with themes of trauma and a self-absorbed society The story earned him immediate praise for its realistic dialogue and unique style In 1949 sold the film rights to one of his stories, but the resulting movie was panned by critics Salinger never again permitted film adaptations of his works

Catcher in the Rye A novel published in 1951, became Salinger’s most famous and popular work – has sold more than 65 million copies Catcher in the Rye follows protagonist Holden Caulfield, a teenager who spends several bewildering and challenging days in New York after being expelled from his elite college preparatory school The novel has become an icon for teenage angst, alienation, and rebellion The most frequently censored book across the US and the second-most frequently taught novel in public high schools

Isolation In 1953 Salinger moved from New York City to rural Cornish, New Hampshire Gradually began to cut himself off from the outside world Became devoted to several different spiritual practices: Zen Buddhism, Vedantic Hinduism, Kriya Yoga Also began to publish less and less frequently, even though he was writing almost every day His later works were not as well received by critics Died in 2010 at the age of 91

Women Salinger had several complicated relationships with women over the course of his life Dated Oona O’Neill – the daughter of a famous playwright – in the 1940s, but she left him for Charlie Chaplin Married Sylvia Welter in Germany, but quickly divorced At age 36, married college student Claire Douglas and had two children, but the relationship fell apart as Salinger isolated himself When he was 53, had a yearlong relationship with Joyce Maynard, who was 18 and an aspiring writer

Writing Style Youth, innocence, and corruption are recurring themes in Salinger’s works Other themes are the disconnect between teenagers and "phony" adults, and the perceptive, precocious intelligence of children Famous for the quality of his dialogue – used realistic dialogue that incorporated contemporary slang His later stories became less plot-driven and less focused on dialogue, as well as increasingly interested in conveying spiritual messages