J.D. Salinger's short stories are one of kind. Within a few pages he manages to allow the audience to share the emotional stress of the protagonists without ever going out of the given story's way to achieve this. Throughout his collection of short stories, two major themes that need further discussion are evident. At first, the emergence of post war trauma, PTSD, in multiple stories seems important. Secondly, the choice of characters and their financial situation need some further analysis.
It is interesting to notice that many characters displaying some form of PTSD appear in J.D. Salinger's short stories. There is the narrator in "For Esme - with Love and Squalor" who describes his mental problems as a soldier, stopping to identify with his past self. The main character in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" shows clear signs of PTSD through his interaction with the child and his sudden mood swings which finally lead to his death. These characters, war heroes that have fallen under the pressure of integrating into normal society again, are a common theme throughout the short stories. This could be due to some personal experience or interest of the author. However, more likely the concept of PTSD allows a character to behave in ways that are disturbing and therefore interesting, even when placed in a otherwise serene environment. The mental issues serve as a form of plot device to keep the story going, to keep the drama alive and to keep the suspension at a constant high level. The interaction between the ex-soldier and the little girl in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is a perfect example of this high level of suspension. The audience is afraid for the wellbeing of the child, having previously been informed of the mental instability of the character.
The second theme that has an interesting continuity throughout J.D. Salinger's short stories is the setting within a well-off family. While this setting, as seen in "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut" or "Teddy," allows the characters to have a bigger range of movement due to their wealth, this is rarely discussed. The obvious wealth of the characters is rarely a focal point in any of these stories, which makes the choice even more perplexing. While some might say that such a focus limits the author, the brilliance of the writing and the longevity of his writings counters this argument with ease.
