READ--J.D. Salinger's "The Laughing Man"

"The Laughing Man"
J.D. Salinger

Read JD Salinger's "The Laughing Man".

As you read, notice:
  • the framing
  • parallels between the chief, the narrator and the laughing man
  • the theme of the story
  • the setting (both historically and physically)
  • mood
  • tone
  • point of view
"The Laughing Man"
J.D. Salinger

Read JD Salinger's "The Laughing Man". Link HERE to open text of short story in new window.

As you read, notice:
  • the framing
  • parallels between the chief, the narrator and the laughing man
  • the theme of the story
  • the setting (both historically and physically)
  • mood
  • tone
  • point of view
You are strongly encouraged to print out the story so that you can make notations, ask questions, and highlight important passages--"The Laughing Man"

2. The Laughing Man--Introduction

--INTRODUCTION--

The entire text of The Laughing Man from the March 19, 1949 issue of The New Yorker.

 It is interesting to note that..." The Catcher in the Rye was turned down by The New Yorker. The magazine had published six of J. D. Salinger’s short stories, including two of the most popular, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” in 1948, and “For Esmé—with Love and Squalor,” in 1950. But when the editors were shown the novel they declined to run an excerpt. They told Salinger that the precocity of the four Caulfield children was not believable, and that the writing was showoffy—that it seemed designed to display the author’s cleverness rather than to present the story."





flickr.com/photos/karenhorton/4722820214/

"Holden at Fifty" by Louis Menand October 1, 2001 The New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/10/01/011001fa_FACT3