J. D. Salinger_ A Life - Kenneth Slawenski [6]
Sonny’s expulsion from McBurney also severed his link to the YMCA, which would prove to be his last childhood connection to a formal religious organization. As their parents advanced socially, Sonny and Doris’s upbringing grew increasingly secular until, by the mid-1930s, the family had abandoned all displays of religious affiliation. When Doris married in May 1935 in a ceremony that took place in the Salinger living room, the wedding was officiated by neither rabbi nor priest but by the famous humanist reformer Dr. John Lovejoy Elliott, the leader of the New York Society for Ethical Culture.
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In September 1934, Sonny was almost sixteen. His parents sensed that their son was at a crossroads. Reluctantly, they saw he needed a more disciplined atmosphere than he could find at home. With an overly indulgent mother and a father reined in by his wife’s intensity, it became apparent that Sonny should go away to boarding school. Sonny himself wanted to study acting, but Sol refused: with the Depression still looming, no son of his would become an actor. Sonny would attend a military boarding school instead.
It is easy to imagine Sol sending Sonny away as a kind of punishment for being dismissed from McBurney. However, there is every indication that the Salingers chose the Valley Forge Military Academy together, as a family. It is also likely that Sonny agreed to enroll at Valley Forge without the protestations or sullenness that we might associate with the character of Holden Caulfield. The logic behind this conclusion is simple: Miriam would never have forced her son to do anything against his wishes, and Sol dared not defy Miriam.
After contacting the academy, Sol chose not to accompany his son to the registration interview. His failure to attend has been cited as evidence of a deteriorating relationship between father and son; but there was another, more disturbing reason for Sol’s absence. The Depression had a chilling effect on the position of Jews in America. The 1930s were a time of anti-Semitism in the United States, as elsewhere. Many Americans blamed the economic collapse on greedy bankers and looked upon the Jews, many of whom were prominent in the field, with resentment. This animosity ran deep, and Jews were marginalized or excluded from society on many levels. Education was no exception. Most universities and private schools applied quotas designed to keep Jewish enrollment to a minimum. Sol was undoubtedly aware of this policy. When the day came for Sonny’s interview at Valley Forge, Sol stayed at home. He sent his wife, with her fair complexion and auburn hair, instead. There is nothing to indicate that Sol ever attempted to deny his religion. But on this occasion he chose not to subject himself to scrutiny that might jeopardize his son’s chances. Throughout their troubled relationship, nothing would speak as loudly of the love Sol had for his son than his absence on that day.
When Sonny, his sister, and his mother arrived at Valley Forge on Tuesday, September 18, they were on their best behavior. With enrollment scheduled for the following Saturday, it was important that they make a good impression, especially since McBurney had sent Salinger’s