Outside Elements
In The Catcher In The Rye Salinger mentions alot of different books and authors in his book what I want to know is why he selected these few books and authors from all the rest. Karen Blixen (1885-1962), also known by her pseudonym, Isak Dinesen, is famous for her memoir, Out of Africa, and for several works of fiction, including Seven Gothic Tales (1934) and Winter's Tales (1942). She was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She wrote in English, after living on a coffee farm in Kenya from 1914 to 1931. She married her second cousin, Baron Bror Blixen of Sweden, thereby acquiring the title Baroness. Following their separation and divorce, she had a long affair with the safari hunter, Denys Finch Hatton, son of a titled English family. In 1931, after losing the coffee farm in the Great Depression, Karen Blixen returned to Denmark and embarked on the writing career that lasted until her death in 1962. I think the reason why Salinger mentioned this author in the book was because of all the miss fortune she went through.
W Somerset Maugham the author to, Of Human Bondage is considered a classic. It was published in 1915 and is a very thinly veiled autobiography. The main character is Philip Carey who experiences the pain of loneliness in a small town. The names of places are twisted versions of those in Maugham’s own life. Maugham grew up in Whitstable, and as such Carey lives in Blackstable; Maugham was educated in Canterbury, Carey in Tercanbury etc. The novel follows his adventures as he lives with the frustration of having a club foot. In Maugham’s own case, a bad stammer was a similar source of alienation. I think the reason again why Salinger chose this novel was because of the authors and the characters bad fortune.
Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most original 19th Century American poets. She is noted for her unconventional broken rhyming meter and use of dashes and random capitalization as well as her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She was a deeply sensitive woman who questioned the puritanical background of her Calvinist family and soulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry. Emily near half way through her life 1864 she went to see the eye doctor and was told to never read of write again for the sake of her vision. She also acquired Bright’s disease which affects the kidneys that might be the reason why she spent so much time at home. I believe Salinger chose this author because of her tragic life.
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was born on March 6, 1855 in Niles, Michigan, the youngest of nine children born to well-to-do parents Lena (1843-1919) and Henry Lardner (1839-1914). It was not until 1907 that he obtained his first job as journalist with the South Bend Times. He then went on to work with the Chicago Tribune eventually writing his column "In the Wake of the News". He also wrote the column "Pullman Pastimes" and edited the St. Louis Sporting News and the Boston American. In 1911 Lardner married Ellis Abbott, with whom he would have four sons; John, James, Ring Jr., and David. For many years Ring Lardner battled alcoholism and, at the age of forty-eight, died from a heart attack on September 27, 1933. As you can tell his life had drama in it too which is why Salinger might have put this author in his book.
Fitzgerald had been an alcoholic since his college days, and became notorious during the 1920s for his extraordinarily heavy drinking, leaving him in poor health by the late 1930s. Fitzgerald suffered two heart attacks in late 1940. After the first, in Schwab's Drug Store, he was ordered by his doctor to avoid strenuous exertion and to obtain a first floor apartment. While awaiting a visit from his doctor, Fitzgerald collapsed in Graham's apartment and died. He was 44. The Gatsby is a book about relationships between many people and there being more to people than what meets the eye. I think the reason why Salinger chose this author in his book was because The Great Gatsby didn’t become famous in Fitzgerald’s life time. The reason why Salinger might have used the catcher in the rye poem as the title is because in the poem it is about a guy trying to find his place in the world which is what Holden is doing.
Works Cited: http://www.online-literature.com/
In The Catcher In The Rye Salinger mentions alot of different books and authors in his book what I want to know is why he selected these few books and authors from all the rest. Karen Blixen (1885-1962), also known by her pseudonym, Isak Dinesen, is famous for her memoir, Out of Africa, and for several works of fiction, including Seven Gothic Tales (1934) and Winter's Tales (1942). She was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She wrote in English, after living on a coffee farm in Kenya from 1914 to 1931. She married her second cousin, Baron Bror Blixen of Sweden, thereby acquiring the title Baroness. Following their separation and divorce, she had a long affair with the safari hunter, Denys Finch Hatton, son of a titled English family. In 1931, after losing the coffee farm in the Great Depression, Karen Blixen returned to Denmark and embarked on the writing career that lasted until her death in 1962. I think the reason why Salinger mentioned this author in the book was because of all the miss fortune she went through.
W Somerset Maugham the author to, Of Human Bondage is considered a classic. It was published in 1915 and is a very thinly veiled autobiography. The main character is Philip Carey who experiences the pain of loneliness in a small town. The names of places are twisted versions of those in Maugham’s own life. Maugham grew up in Whitstable, and as such Carey lives in Blackstable; Maugham was educated in Canterbury, Carey in Tercanbury etc. The novel follows his adventures as he lives with the frustration of having a club foot. In Maugham’s own case, a bad stammer was a similar source of alienation. I think the reason again why Salinger chose this novel was because of the authors and the characters bad fortune.
Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most original 19th Century American poets. She is noted for her unconventional broken rhyming meter and use of dashes and random capitalization as well as her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She was a deeply sensitive woman who questioned the puritanical background of her Calvinist family and soulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry. Emily near half way through her life 1864 she went to see the eye doctor and was told to never read of write again for the sake of her vision. She also acquired Bright’s disease which affects the kidneys that might be the reason why she spent so much time at home. I believe Salinger chose this author because of her tragic life.
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was born on March 6, 1855 in Niles, Michigan, the youngest of nine children born to well-to-do parents Lena (1843-1919) and Henry Lardner (1839-1914). It was not until 1907 that he obtained his first job as journalist with the South Bend Times. He then went on to work with the Chicago Tribune eventually writing his column "In the Wake of the News". He also wrote the column "Pullman Pastimes" and edited the St. Louis Sporting News and the Boston American. In 1911 Lardner married Ellis Abbott, with whom he would have four sons; John, James, Ring Jr., and David. For many years Ring Lardner battled alcoholism and, at the age of forty-eight, died from a heart attack on September 27, 1933. As you can tell his life had drama in it too which is why Salinger might have put this author in his book.
Fitzgerald had been an alcoholic since his college days, and became notorious during the 1920s for his extraordinarily heavy drinking, leaving him in poor health by the late 1930s. Fitzgerald suffered two heart attacks in late 1940. After the first, in Schwab's Drug Store, he was ordered by his doctor to avoid strenuous exertion and to obtain a first floor apartment. While awaiting a visit from his doctor, Fitzgerald collapsed in Graham's apartment and died. He was 44. The Gatsby is a book about relationships between many people and there being more to people than what meets the eye. I think the reason why Salinger chose this author in his book was because The Great Gatsby didn’t become famous in Fitzgerald’s life time. The reason why Salinger might have used the catcher in the rye poem as the title is because in the poem it is about a guy trying to find his place in the world which is what Holden is doing.
Works Cited: http://www.online-literature.com/
