Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author known for the classic novel
The Catcher in the Rye, as well as many short stories, two of which form his novella
Franny and Zooey. He was famous for being reclusive and having numerous relationships with women in their late teens and early twenties, including writer Joyce Maynard.
Tropes that apply to J. D. Salinger:
- Author Avatar: Seymour Glass, who shares with the author post-traumatic stress from his wartime service.
- Beige Prose: The Catcher in the Rye could be considered one of the Trope Codifiers for this. Salinger was a huge fan of Ernest Hemingway, so it would stand to reason.
- Big Applesauce: He was born and raised in New York City though he spent the majority of his adult life in New Hampshire.
- Creator Thumbprint: Young children, often little girls, who are Wise Beyond Their Years.
- Documentary: 2013's Salinger
- Doing It for the Art: Salinger's stated reason for not publishing since the sixties. He wanted to write entirely for himself, unfettered by the demands of a large readership. At the time of his death, he had a safe full of manuscripts, with detailed instructions on how and when they were be released to the public.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: No one's perfect, no one is horrible. It's a complex world with complex people.
- Keep Circulating the Photocopies: In his lifetime, Salinger turned down publishers who wanted to republish short stories of his other than those collected in Nine Stories. So fans sought out the magazines in which these stories were first published.
- Married to the Job: As his children report, Salinger would often disappear for weeks on end in his personal writing shack.
- The Movie Buff: Despite Holden Caulfield's hatred of them, Salinger loved them, especially black and white classics.
- Only Known by Initials: Real name was Jerome David Salinger. He briefly went by "Jerry" at school but eventually went by his initials.
- Reclusive Artist: Salinger was quite possibly the author embodiment of this trope. The New York Times reported that "Not even a fire that consumed at least half his home" could smoke him out, and is said to have been equally famous for having elevated privacy to an art form. Though by all accounts Salinger had an active social life amongst his neighbors until his death, and would, on very rare occasions, grant interviews to the public. He's just what most people think of when they hear the trope's name.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: He served in World War II, seeing combat in both D-Day and The Battle Of The Bulge before moving to counter-intelligence. His time in the war had a noticeable effect on him, once telling his daughter "you never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live."
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: In the middle.
