Education
.... Throughout the novel, Holden seems to isolate himself, either purposely or unintentionally, as a form of self protection. Salinger’s life is closely related to that of Holden Caulfield’s, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye. “Jerome David Salinger was born in New York, New York on January 1, 1919”… (Bruni 2930). During his life he married twice and then retreated into a secluded and lonely life (Bruni 2932-2933). Because of the extreme popularity of his novel and short stories, Salinger decided to live away from the prying eyes of the media. He flunked out of many prep schools and sent to Valley Forge Military School in Pennsylvania where he served as literary editor to the school’s academic yearbook. Valley Forge inspired Salinger to create Pencey Prep, the school that Holden gets expelled from (“The Catcher in the Rye” 117). He later attended many different universities and colleges and attended “Whit Burnett’s famous course in short-story writing at Columbia University” (Bruni 2931). Like his character...