Catcher in the Rye
Troubled Teen Kicked out of Pency Prep, Rejects Adult World, Seeks Meaning in NY
Gordon's Books in Manhattan
212-555-READSixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, who lost his fencing team's equipment on a New York City subway -- and caused the match to be cancelled -- has been dismissed from Pency Prep and is seeking emotional and psychological shelter in New York. Caulfield, still grieving over the death of his ten-year-old brother Allie -- who died of complications resulting from a struggle with leukemia -- has now failed to meet the requirements of three prep schools. Asked about the nature of his discomfort regarding attending these schools, the teen says that "Everybody sticks together in these dirty little cliques…even the guys that belong to the goddamn Book-of-the-Month Club stick together…" (131)
A reporter asked Caulfield what he has done in New York City now that he has been unsuccessful in prep school and is visiting the "Big Apple." He said he is both distressed and depressed and he feels like the whole world is a phony place. He reports that he danced with several women in his hotel lounge on his first night in New York, hoping to strike up a romantic conversation with one of them but he says the communication and vibes just weren't there. Later he met a woman named "Sunny" and she didn't want to have a conversation either. Depressed over the lack of communication, he said he imbibed too much alcohol and will try again to me people who aren't "phony" on his second day in the city.
Ten-Year-old Dies after bout with Leukemia
Allie Caulfield, a ten-year-old boy who battled with leukemia for several years, has died in a Manhattan hospital. Caulfield was born on June 19, 1940, to Linda and Loyd Caulfield. He was a bright young man, with a warm smile and a good world for everyone. Allie excelled in everything he did, and was known for his kindness and willingness to help anyone who needed his assistance. He loved baseball, camping, and he read many books. He leaves behind his parents and two brothers, Holden and DB, and sister Phoebe.
Novelist Salinger's Visit to Dachau -- Los Angeles Times Opinion Column
An estimated 5 to 6 million Jews were murdered by Hitler's army, and only a few of those American soldiers who came upon the Nazi death camps -- and helped those prisoners who were holding on to life by a thread -- have shared their horror stories with the media.
American author J.D. Salinger -- writer of The Catcher in the Rye -- whose father was Jewish, served in World War II in Europe. Though his mother, Linda, was Roman Catholic, Salinger never thought of himself as anything other than being Jewish. He landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, along with 156,000 Allied soldiers, and encountered many horrific scenes including the Battle of the Bulge and, when the fighting was over, the Dachau death camp in Germany.
"He was one of the first soldiers to enter a liberated Nazi concentration camp," said Salinger's daughter Margaret, in her memoir called Dream Catcher. "On April 23, as a member of the 4th Infantry Division, my father witnessed the horrific scenes of large piles of dead bodies, some fully decayed, others still in the process of decay," Margaret wrote. "To the day he died, he remained possessed by the memories and images from that experience and was an avid pacifist, as is borne out in his novels and short stories," Margaret explained.
World War II Vets' Personal Lives Touched by War -- Atlanta Journal
Interviews with veterans of WWII in the 1950s reveal sensitivity and silence, as they try to heal emotionally from the horrors of Nazi Germany. "My father has a deaf ear from a mortar explosion and when he hears a loud noise he still flinches," said Mary Walter, whose father was an infantry soldier and lost his left leg. "He won't talk about his experienced, but he has nightmares and is depressed often," Walter told the New York Times Monday, April 24, 1954. "I pity the families of those who witnessed the Holocaust up close," she added.
Letter to the Editor -- Stop Banning Cather in the Rye
Ernie's Lounge
Always the…
