Salinger's Background

Salinger, being a Jewish child, found it hard to relate in society. During his childhood, Judaism did not seem to be quite popular. His mother, Marie Salinger, was disowned by her family due to her husband’s faith. After her tramatic disconnect from her family, Marie strongly studied the Jewish faith in order to establish a loving bond with her husband and his religious preferences.

Throughout Salinger’s early childhood, he often switched schools. At a particular point in his childhood, Salinger resided in a strict military school. This strict school allowed him to write secular and free novels. He did not believe in structure and order in his literary works.

After high school, Salinger pursued college. He examined various universities, but was quite indecisive of where he wanted to go. After much thought, Salinger chose The Washington Square College in New York. The universities’ acceptance of Jewish students appealed to Salinger. Although he enjoyed this acceptance, he eventually became restless and unable to continue an education at Washington Square. He then took an extended absence from college.

During this extended period of time, Salinger worked in a slaughter house in Poland. He did not enjoy the slaughterhouse due to its militant structure. This structure also aided in his ambitious novels. After he left the slaughterhouse, he enrolled into Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. This school provided Salinger with a strong education and healthy social life. Various students described Salinger as mysterious and odd. Although he was portrayed as an odd student, he gained a strong reputation that allowed him to gain strong relationships with various students. Many of Salinger’s characters were based off of factual students of Ursinus. Frances Glass, one of Salinger’s characters, was based off a student by the name of Frances Thieroff. After one semester at Ursinus, Salinger unexpectedly left. Although he left the university, he did not regret the experience and was quite positive toward the universities’ curriculum.
Salinger’s strong, yet ambitious background aided in his success.