In 1945, a novel was published that would forever change the way society views itself. The book, entitled The Catcher in the Rye, would propel a man named Jerome David Salinger to fame as one of the most famous authors of the twentieth century. This same man, not ten years after the publication and while still in the peak of his career, would depart from this society- the one that he so greatly changed leaving nothing but his literature to be his lasting voice. However one may view this mysterious life of J. D. Salinger, there is but one thing for certain: J. D. Salinger has provided the reader with a controversial look at society which is greatly enhanced by the integration of his own life experiences, dialect and religious philosophies into his stories.

"Salinger was the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school." -Norman Mailer (qtd. in "Salinger" SSC 291)

The story of J. D. Salinger begins in downtown New York, NY, where he was born on January 1, 1919. Little is known about his early childhood, but his parents; Sol and Miriam, were known to be of upper-middle class stature and the family dwelled in downtown Ne

As with any famous author, criticism is never a unanimous voice. Critical evaluations of Salinger's work is divided, with some critics going as far as to labeling the work "profound" and others to denouncing it as "immature" (CA 997). As for the negative criticism that Salinger receives, the majority of it derives from the questionable importance and impact of Salinger's incorporation of Eastern philosophy into his later works. Linda Gorden attributes the integration of Eastern philosophy to "[Salinger's] no longer trying to please the conventional readers but ridding himself of conventional forms and methods accepted by Western society" (Gorden 2046). The obvious conclusion is that Salinger is no longer writing for the reader, but rather for himself; and his values and beliefs are therefore going to unconsciously show up in his work. However it is in Salinger's post classic period, particularly after the generation engulfed by The Catcher in the Rye, during which the degeneration of the criticism of Salinger's work really begins. Critics are quick to become more critical and are "labeling [Salinger] as 'cute,' 'repressed,' 'Puritanical,' and 'grossly sentimental,'" as writes William Wiegand (qtd. in "Salinger" CA 999). Even the preceding is not as harsh as the critical reception of his later works. Some critics began to state that "Salinger has lost the artisitic ability shown during his classic period" (Gorden 2044). One critic has gone as far as labeling the short story "Zooey" as the "...longest and dullest story ever to appear in The New Yorker ..." (Gorden 2045). Although there is a substantial amount of negative criticism of Salinger's literary works, the positive criticism is greatly in the majority. Not always considered Salinger's masterpiece, The Catcher in the Rye has been his most famous and influential to date and is arguably the most influential novel of the mid- twentieth century. With the publication of this, his first novel, "Salinger accumulated a substantial corps of disciples, especially among the young people" ("Salinger" CA 998). Walter Allen goes on to state that Salinger is a literary phenomenon who "created the dialect of a generation" (qtd. "Salinger" CA 5-8: 998). For the first time, a generation had an author who seemed to understand them, who somehow could capture their values, aspirations, and ultimate

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Approximate Word count = 1592
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)