Ever since the early twentieth century, children and adolescents have been walking through life in a haze of confusion. J.D. Salinger seems to identify with this feeling in his writing. (this is kinda confusing- identify with walking through life in confusion?) Salinger, most famous for penning his one and only novel The Catcher in the Rye, may be one of the most misunderstood American authors. The public is constantly debating the issue of whether Salinger's writing is brilliant and easy to connect with, or controversial and unsuitable for young individuals to read. Salinger explores many different issues throughout his writing; there is no single definite theme that can be identified in his works. But if one were to put a label on it, there may be one general idea that Salinger tries deliver. His experiences as a young soldier in World War II led him towards a sort of self-discovery. In a sense, some of his writing is autobiographical, as he writes about many different kinds of characters, but they each are similar in that they experience some kind of self-discovery. When asked about his style, the late author said that he didn't know much about his writing style (Eppes). However, upon further reading and analysis of his writing, it can be seen that through the use of extensive internal monologues, phone calls, and letters, J.D. Salinger explores the depths to which a person can get to know himself.
Where I lived at Pencey, I lived in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing of the new dorms… It was named after this guy Ossenburger that went to Pencey… You should see old Ossenburger… Anyway, he gave Pency a pile of dough, and they named our wing after him…Anyway, that's where I lived at Pencey. Old Ossenburger Memorial Wing, in the new dorms. (16-17)
By doing this, the reader is able to fully understand each character, however minor he or she may be. Whatever information Holden knows, the reader will then be able to absorb as well. Salinger gives the reader the ability to further develop an understanding of each character through the use of monologues.
Following Holden Caulfield's three-day adventure in New York City, it is evident that at such a young age, Holden seems to suffer from an identity crisis. In an adult world full of what he deems as "phonies", Holden appears to be having a tough time preserving his childhood innocence. Being the odd one out in his family, the only person he can connect with is his little sister Phoebe and his old teacher-turned-creeper, Mr. Antolini. Through Mr. Antolini's character, Salinger uses psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel as a way to advise Holden, and thus the reader, that "the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one" (188). This leads Holden to start to reassess where his life is heading. As the story nears its end, Salinger takes the reader on a final journey through Holden's mind. Every once in a while Holden stops describing what's happening and launches into another monologue. In the span of several hours, his mood swings from being contemplative to depressed, then finally to ecstatically happy. From his train of thought, the reader can imply that watching Phoebe ride around on the carousel leads Holden to discover the fact that there is still childhood innocence intact in the world. With his heart settled, he can finally settle into his role of the confused teenager and not try to be someone else.
Salinger's third book published, Franny and Zooey, consists of two short stories that are interconnected. The two stories feature the two youngest siblings of the Glass family, a group of characters constantly featured in Salinger's writings. Through the two characters, Salinger explores the themes of spirituality and dissatisfaction. Both Franny and Zooey appear to suffer from their spirituality, which prevents them from living seemingly "normal" lives. Franny is unsatisfied with her college life while Zooey is unhappy with his acting life. Salinger has the character of Zooey help overcome his sister's problem first, despite having his own issues to deal with. A phone call is incorporated into the storyline for Zooey to solve his sister's problem.
In all of his works, Salinger does not start resolving the problems of his characters until the very end of the stories. Thus, the phone call in Franny and Zooey does not appear in the book until the end. Prior to phoning his sister, Zooey is already speaking to Franny in person. Obviously, doing so does not help at all because it only serves to make her cry, not solve her problems. With a phone call, Zooey continues to speak with her over the phone, and gives her some advice in the wise words of their eldest brother Seymour. Salinger's use of the phone as a medium of communication allows the reader to pay further attention to the words being spoken. The phone only serves the sense of hearing. When one is talking on the phone, the sense of hearing is immediately heightened in order to pay greater attention to the speaker on the other end of the line. Therefore, while illustrating out the contents of the phone call, Salinger barely describes the actions of the characters, and only provides the dialogue of the conversation. At the end of her phone call from Zooey, she is able to relax herself and immerse herself in a deep, peaceful sleep without (How about? =the habit of reciting the Jesus Prayer) first reciting the Jesus Prayer that has been plaguing her for weeks.
The last of his publications, Hapworth 16, 1924, takes the form of an extremely long letter. In this short story, J.D. Salinger steps into the role of Seymour Glass, while the reader fills the role of the characters being addressed. The letter takes the form of a conversational monologue, quite like the tone used in The Catcher in the Rye, except with a much more enthusiastic outlook in life. At the time of writing the letter, Seymour Glass is only seven years old, but has an unbelievably high level of intellect. His letter is full of praise and criticisms regarding all the people he knows, including himself.
The use of a written letter to explore oneself is the main focus of the short story. The letter is similar to an internal monologue in that Salinger draws out the character's entire thought processes with no editing. When reflecting upon what Miss Overman says about his writing style, Seymour criticizes her as well as himself. Salinger explores how Seymour Glass is able to find fault within him while writing a letter to his family. Like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, Seymour often drifts into a different conversation when something he mentions triggers another thought in his mind. At the young age of seven, it is hard for one to fully explore oneself, but Salinger does so with Seymour Glass by putting him above other individuals of the same age, giving him and the entire Glass family greater intellectual abilities. The letter to his family ends with Seymour realizing his faults that give off negative feelings of his personality.
…conclusion.
