The first of his short stories appeared in several well-known magazines. He was inspired to write by his short story writing professor as well as events from his own life (Jerome). Some of his stories also appeared in periodicals and he developed a style that became increasingly associated with The New Yorker magazine (Salinger, J.D.). Salinger does not like his early stories because they are apprentice work and they do not reflect his Hindu-Buddhist influences (J.D.). Today he is known for many writings.
One of Salinger's stories, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," was finally accepted by The New Yorker after ten years of receiving nothing but rejection letters. He then went on to write many more stories for them, thirteen of which were combined into three books. These books were later put together to form the novel The Catcher in the Rye. .
"The Catcher in the Rye is a story of and urban American middle-class boy who at the adolescent crisis of his life - the point at which in a communally ordered society he would undergo rites of initiation into manhood - chooses, on his own and unguided, an adulterated life in the "real" world rather than escape from it." (J.D.).
Holden Caulfield is the main character of this novel. At age 16, he was expelled from school for not having good enough grades. He was however very intelligent. He is also the narrator of this story, and narrates with a very cynical tone. Holden is also very judgmental about everyone in the book. He is constantly criticizing all different kinds of people. I think that J.D. Salinger was similar and different from Holden. Salinger was also kicked out of school for not having the right grades. Salinger is also critical of other people, especially other authors. In the novel, Holden is also very consumed with the idea of having sex. This is like Salinger in the way that he has been known to pursue younger girls for sex (Morrill).
