Jerome David Salinger is the writer behind one of the key works of 20th century American literature, The Catcher in the Rye. The path to this work, like life after its publication, was not easy and joyful.
Childhood and student life
Jerome David Salinger was born in 1919 in New York, USA. His father owned a meat and cheese business and hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps. But even in his school years, Jerome began to get involved in literature and wrote his first stories, and also wrote a few lines for the anthem of his school.
Salinger tried to find himself in many universities, studying in the USA, Austria, Poland, from where he was expelled for his "sharp tongue" and a very difficult character. But in 1939, fate brought him to Columbia, where he began listening to a course of lectures on a short story from Whit Burnett, an American writer and owner of Story magazine. It was this teacher that can be called a key figure in the career of a young writer, because he noted the character of one of Salinger's stories, Holden Caulfield, as an image worthy of a separate novel. This was the impetus for writing the first and only full-fledged novel "The Catcher in the Rye", which became a world bestseller.
In 1942, Jerome David Salinger fell in love with the daughter of a famous playwright - Unu O'Neill. They began an affair, but the war broke out, and Salinger went to the front as a volunteer. During the war, his girlfriend met Charlie Chaplin, whom she married. Jerome David Salinger was still married in 1955 and had a daughter and a son. But his wife could not stand life behind a high fence from the whole world, and the couple broke up.
During the war, Salinger continued to write. Even in the most inappropriate, seemingly, military situations, he wrote his novel about Holden Caulfield, growing up a difficult teenager. Work as a writer for him to live and move on.
Life after the war
After the war, Jerome Salinger was tormented by nightmares and memories, he could not write for a long time. To heal, he became interested in Zen Buddhism and meditation, which accompanied him throughout his future life. By 1951, he had finished and published The Catcher in the Rye.
Millions of readers around the world admired the work, and Salinger quickly rose to prominence. Many dreamed of meeting him and looked for a meeting with him, they hunted him right home. Salinger was not ready for such a life, he did not like his fame and did not give interviews. Numerous fans forced him to leave New York in 1965 and start a life of a recluse. He also stopped publishing his works. Nevertheless, he wrote to the end of his life, but only for himself.
At the age of 91, Jerome Davy Salinger died in his home behind a high fence. Death was natural. Based on his life, the biographical film "The Catcher in the Rye" was filmed in 2017.
