J. D. Salinger_ A Life - Kenneth Slawenski [18]
When considering Salinger’s career, especially during the early years, it is important to distinguish between ambition and confidence. Certainly, Salinger had abundant self-confidence, but on the occasions when his confidence ran dry, it was ambition that kept him going. In 1940, his ambition was directed toward recognition and literary success. In years to come, the goal of his ambition would change, but the instinct itself would never desert him.
There is an additional explanation for Salinger’s sustained composure at this time: his story “Go See Eddie” had finally been accepted for publication. Although not picked up by any of the high-profile magazines, its eventual acceptance must have come as vindication to the author.
As 1940 came to a close, “Go See Eddie” was published in the University of Kansas City Review, an academic magazine with a limited circulation. Meanwhile, Salinger began sketching the outline of a novel that would one day become The Catcher in the Rye.
At the same time as “Go See Eddie” was published and Salinger’s confidence was restored, F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, at the age of forty-four.
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In 1941, Salinger established himself as an author on the rise, a writer both insightful and marketable.* The challenge presented was one of direction: during the year, Salinger would produce two distinctly different types of story, one commercial and the other increasingly calling the reader to self-examination. As the year wore on and his maturity and reputation grew, Salinger was progressively torn between the two.
No contrast portrays the paradox better than the opening and closing episodes of 1941, the first of frivolous distraction and the last of impending war. Bolstered by the sale of “Go See Eddie” but cash-strapped and in need of employment, at the beginning of 1941, Salinger and his best friend, Herb Kauffman, took positions on the entertainment staff of the SS Kungsholm, a lavish Art Deco cruise ship operated by the Swedish American Line.18
On February 15, the liner slipped away from the cold port of New York, bound for a nineteen-day Caribbean journey with stops at Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama. Along with travelers seeking tropical comforts and respite from thoughts of war, Jerry Salinger set out to enjoy a long working vacation, romancing girls and relaxing with his friend in the sunshine.
As a member of the entertainment staff, Salinger acted in plays, accompanied the daughters of rich passengers to dances, and spent his days organizing and playing deck sports. A photo of Salinger aboard the Kungsholm shows him happy, flawlessly dressed and groomed, the very picture of congeniality. He loved his time aboard the Kungsholm. Later, when his mind sought flight from darker realities, he would always remember the voyage, recalling the sunny beaches of Puerto Rico and the moonlit harbor of Havana.
The time spent aboard the Kungsholm would prove to be a twilight of innocence, not only for the young author but also for the nation. The Second World War had begun in Europe more than a year earlier, and though the United States was resisting being drawn into the conflict, the war cast a shadow over every aspect of American life. In immediate response to the German invasion of France in 1940, Congress had enacted the Selective Service Act, establishing the first peacetime draft in American history.
Even aboard the Kungsholm, the war was a constant topic of conversation, and Salinger left the ship on March 6 having correctly gauged the popular appetite for positive short stories about the military. Recognizing his opportunity to appeal to high-paying commercial magazines, he immediately penned “The Hang of It,” a short, conventional story about the virtues of army life. Designed to appeal