J.D. Salinger

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wrote about. The main characters were considered misfits of society. The characters generally did not fit in with traditional American culture. They could not adjust to the real world. However, Salinger’s most successful stories are the ones about people who could not adjust. The super-intelligent humans who had to choose between the American culture at that time and the moral world, or choose between the "phony" real world and the morally "pure" world. Salinger creates these misfits, as heroes who do not fit into society. They struggle between the two worlds – shallow and moral. The leading characters are on a mission of happiness. At first, Salinger does not lead the characters to material happiness; he has them start out in a bad situation. By the time they make it through the end of the story they have changed for the better. One of these characters that he writes about in this situation is Holden Caufield in The Catcher in the Rye. He starts off in a bad ...

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characters in "Nine Stories" has a certain philosophy about life that runs parallel to the Eightfold Path used in the Buddhism religion. The Eightfold Path is one of the four Noble Truths. It is a path to the suppression of suffering and it is made up of eight parts that form the cornerstone of the Buddhist faith. Buddha wanted to be liberated in his life just like the character in Salinger’s work who eventually achieves nirvana, the ultimate goal of the Buddhist path, by committing suicide. In this way, he lets go of all the suffering and attains happiness. It is a controversial way to view happiness. Religion is a force in the story to create happiness. Many times the story ...

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