The Life of J. D. Salinger
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger adds details from his own personal experiences. Like many authors, Salinger uses parts of his own life to add a realistic aspect to his novel, and to also show some of the struggles that he went through too. Born into a family in New York, Salinger beautifully depicts the New York City lifestyle, and also demonstrates to the reader his perspective of the world after his experiences with school and the war.
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School Life
Growing up in Upper West Side New York, Salinger attended the McBurney School. However, he flunked out of school and was forced by his parents to attend Valley Forge Military Academy. After graduating, Salinger went to New York University, Ursinus College, and Columbia University. He displays his caravanning of schools through Holden as he switches from school to school disliking it every time, except for English class of course. While at Columbia he met editor of Story magazine, Professor Whit Burnett. Professor Burnett pushes Salinger to excel in his writing. In The Catcher in the Rye Burnett is portrayed as Mr. Spencer, the only teacher Holden liked. Just when his career was starting, Salinger was drafted into the U.S. army.
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The War
During the time when he was aspiring to be a writer, J. D. Salinger was drafted into WWII after Pearl Harbor. He served from 1942-1944 and was stationed on the beaches of France during the Normandy Invasion. Despite being in war, during his down time, Salinger began to write The Catcher in the Rye and came up with the main character, Holden Caulfield. In many ways the war affected the purpose of The Catcher in the Rye as it is a critical commentary of childhood innocence and growing up. These themes relate to WWII as many kid's homes were destroyed or they were forced to go to war. After the war, Salinger had a mental breakdown and was sent to a hospital. This could be the reason for why Holden is telling the story of The Catcher in the Rye from a mental institution.
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