Experiences and Writings J.D. Salinger Biography

Essay by SHSsoftballstar6High School, 10th grade October 2004

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" What I like best is a book that's funny once in a while... What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though."- Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye

Jerome David Salinger came into this world on January 1, 1919. J.D. was short

for Jerome David. He went by J.D. when he was young and he never let go of the name as he got older. J.D. was born in New York City, New York. (biography.com).

J.D. Salinger's parents were Sol and Miriam Salinger. His father, Sol Salinger, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and is said to have been the son of a rabbi. However, Sol drifted far from orthodox Judaism to become an importer of hams.

Sol married a Scotch-Irish lady. The lady's name was Marie Jillich. She changed her name to Miriam to fit into her husband's family. (biography.com).

In 1932, the time J.D. should have begun high school, he was transferred a to private institution, Manhattan's McBurney School. There, J.D. told the interviewer that he was interested in dramatics, but J.D. reportedly flunked out within a year.(biography.com)

In September 1934, his father enrolled him at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. In 1935, while attending Valley Forge, J.D. was the literary editor of Crossed Sabers,

Brown 2

the Academy Yearbook. Salinger's grades at Valley Forge were satisfactory. As recorded in J.D.'s Valley Forge file, his I.Q. was 115. While such scores as J.D.'s must be treated with caution, this one and another one of 111 that he made when tested in New York is strong evidence that he...