Literary Giant J.D. Salinger Passes Away

We remember the 'Catcher in the Rye' author's life, famous works and lasting influence.

For every high school student, required reading in English class can seem like a chore. But when it comes time to read J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, mandatory reading suddenly stops feeling forced, and starts feeling like the discovery process it's meant to be. Stepping into Holden Caulfield's disturbed teen psyche in Salinger's great bildungsroman (Google it — it's worth it) is a profound moment for everyone from the very opening lines of the author's most famous novel. Holden will forever remain one of the most famous literal protagonists — and "anti-heroes" — of all time.

Today, sad news arrived from Cornish, N.H. where Salinger has lived as a recluse for decades.The author's son released a statement through his literary representative saying the author had passed away from natural causes in his home. Like his most famous protagonist, the author (born Jerome David Salinger) grew up in New York City the son of a wealthy father and was sent away to boarding school (although Salinger was sent to a military, not preparatory, academy) to be educated. Salinger spent four years in the Army, carrying a typewriter with him wherever he went, jotting down stories wherever he could lay down his machine.

Upon returning to New York, the author began frequenting Greenwich Village bars while penning the first short stories about Holden Caulfield. His stories appeared in periodicals like The Saturday Evening Post and The New Yorker, which published excerpts from The Catcher in the Rye. (In honor of the author's passing, the magazine has now made the complete archive of his stories available online.) The story of Holden Caulfield was hotly contested from its very first appearance: The New York Times called the book "an unusually brilliant first novel;" other reviews, like the one found in the Christian Science Monitor. They referred to the teen protagonist as "alive, human, preposterous, profane and pathetic beyond belief."

What the latter review highlights about Salinger's work is exactly what millions of devoted readers identify with: the author's ability to portray young, troubled, precocious youths, often too wise and already too world-weary. Salinger also published several other works of fiction, including the novel Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories, a collection of short stories.

Despite his literary fame, J.D. Salinger is also famous for shunning the opening arms of the public. By 1952, he had migrated to Cornish, married, had two children, and divorced. He instructed his agent not to forward fanmail and is rumored to have spent much of his time writing in a cement bunker. Not many more details are known about Salinger's remaining years beyond random appearances in the news when the author contested unauthorized biographies and licensing of his works.

More details about J.D. Salinger's conflicted mind may come to light now that he has passed away. Most of his fans, however, will choose to remember the author for the literary rite of passage he leaves behind in the form of his most famous novel. Holden Caulfield's words echoed all of our crazed teenage thoughts at times, so it is best to end this tribute with his thoughts on mortality: "I hope to hell that when I do die somebody has the sense to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddamn cemetary. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

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