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By Root 1434 0

out every night to a rural nightclub called Jake’s. In contrast, and apparently unnoticed by Billy, marriage and motherhood have matured Ruthie past her husband. She would rather spend a quiet night at home with Billy and the baby than dancing and drinking at a roadhouse. The clash of priorities results in an argument, and Billy returns from work one evening to find that Ruthie has packed her bags, taken the baby, and gone back to her mother. In a scene reminiscent of Holden Caulfield in the Wicker Bar, Billy reacts by sulking with a bottle of bourbon and pretending that he is Sam, the piano player from Casablanca. Much to her mother’s annoyance, Ruthie and the baby return to Billy. The experience has shown him how selfish he has been and taught him to appreciate his wife and her tenderness. As a signal to the reader that Billy has finally grown up and accepted his responsibility as a husband, he tells Ruthie to wake him up if it thunders during the night and she becomes frightened. When the thunder begins that night, Billy awakes to find Ruthie gone from the bed, an excellent example of Salinger disguising a major point with subtlety. Searching for his wife, Billy is surprised to discover her in the kitchen. He had expected to find her in the closet—her usual hiding spot—cringing in fear of the storm. If we did not think Billy a heedless husband before, we certainly do now. What kind of husband would sleep through a storm while his wife cowered in a closet? How many times had fear forced the sensitive Ruthie in search of a protection she did not find at her husband’s side? The episode is an important one, amplifying Billy’s lack of responsibility and Ruthie’s sensitive nature.35

When published in February 1944, the story was popular. It contained characters who were immediately recognizable. Everyone who read it could directly identify with Billy and Ruthie or knew people just like them. America had been at war for almost two years. Millions of men had been called away from home and family. Their wives and girlfriends lived in terror that they would never return. Many men struggled to recall their wives’ faces. Some had never laid eyes upon their own children. And they read “Both Parties Concerned” not only with recognition but also with envy. They not only related to the story’s characters but longed to be in their places, knowing exactly what they would do if they were.

Billy and Ruthie were created as simple characters, but their simplicity adds to their believability. Their reactions to events are commonplace, leading to a certain intimacy between characters and readers. Perhaps the most successful portion of the story is when Billy finds Ruthie’s letter explaining why she has left. In his depression, Billy reads the letter over and over again, until he has memorized it not only forward but also backward. It is a foolish act, but one all the more poignant for being so easily related to by the reader. Billy reciting Ruthie’s letter backward reaches deep into his psyche and somehow grants legitimacy to similar moments in our own lives. Salinger’s ability to transmit self-image to the reader in this way is what gives his writing life.

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In late May 1943 Salinger was transferred from Bainbridge to the Army Air Forces Classification Center at Nashville, Tennessee, the first in a series of reassignments and relocations over the next eight months. At the Classification Center, he underwent a series of tests to determine whether he should be a pilot, bombardier, or navigator. Salinger, though, was despondent over these choices and reapplied to the Officer Candidate School. This time he was accepted, but, as weeks passed without further word, his relief soon turned to frustration. He traveled to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to persuade officials there to intercede for him. He wrote again to Colonel Baker at Valley Forge, begging him to pressure the OCS for a commission. When his Nashville tests came back, Salinger was promoted to acting first sergeant, but that only annoyed him further. He had done everything possible