Throughout the book, the settings reflect many of Salinger’s personal experiences and beliefs. For instance, Salinger was born in New York City and spent most his childhood there (Telgen 117). It is no coincidence then that most of the novel takes place in New York City. To demonstrate the mastery of understanding the struggles of a teenager, it makes perfect sense for Salinger to choose a setting where he was familiar with as a teenager. When Holden describes New York, he states, “In New York, boy, money really talks—I’m not kidding” (Salinger 69). The statement demonstrates the author’s fluency in the local culture of New York. Another factor that influences Salinger’s development of the settings is his beliefs in Buddhism. Death, old people, and sickness, three fundamental sufferings in Buddhism, all appear in the novel as an indication of Eastern influence on Salinger’s writings (Rosen 161). When Holden visits Mr. Spencer, his schoolteacher at Pencey Prep, he describes a scene that aligns with this notion:
The minute I went in, I was sort of sorry I’d come. He was reading the Atlantic Monthly, and there were pills and medicine all over the place, and everything
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For more than 5 decades, Salinger lived in seclusion, denying his fame as an author (McGrath). He considered publications as an invasion of his privacy (Hipple 105). On January 27th, 2010, J. D. Salinger passed away in Cornish, New Hampshire due to natural causes. Up until this point, his health was in excellent condition (McGrath). Even though Salinger’s collection of works is quite limited, it gained him widespread popularity and earned him a respected reputation as an icon in American literature of the 20th century (French 434). His works particularly appealed to high school and college students (434). Although Salinger is no longer alive, his literary creations will always live in the minds of the