On January 1st, 1919 in New York City, New York, Jerome David Salinger or J.D. as he was called, was born. J.D. Salinger was the second child to Sol and Miriam Salinger. His father, Sol Salinger, was of Jewish decent and ran his own ham and cheese import business. When his father was looking for a wife, it was frowned upon to marry a person of another race. Sol Salinger fell in love with Miriam Salinger, of Scottish decent, despite the norms of society. However, the family did their best to hid Miriam Salinger’s background and J.D. Salinger did not even know of his mother’s decent until he was fourteen (Biography). J.D. Salinger’s childhood was much like the main character’s in the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield. Despite his immense intelligence, he did not do well in school. Like Caulfield he flunked out. His parents, Sol and Miriam Salinger, later decided to send him off to Valley Forge Military academy in Wayne Pennsylvania. After graduating, Salinger returned home for one more year and attended New York University. His father sent him to Europe after his studies to learn another language and observe business overseas. While in Europe, Salinger grew an interest for Vienna, Italy. He was enchanted by the Italian language but paid little attention to business strategies. Back in the United States of America, Jerome …show more content…
This time period was the baby boomer era. During these years, the economy was booming and young people began to have more free time. Prior to the 1950s, teenagers had responsibilities. They either went into the military or got jobs the help the community. Now in this new era, teenagers had a little more freedom. With this new freedom came much responsibility. Parents felt as if their children were abusing their newly acquired lifestyle. They viewed it as a rebellion. Rock and roll and new technology such as television and radio also impacted these young