For Esme-With Love & Squalor

                                  For Esme with Love & Squalor by J.D. SALINGER

  Summary

The story begins with the author J.D.Salinger, receiving an invitation of marriage of a friend named Esme in Devon, England whom he met while at the ending day of his pre-invasion training in Devon. He first saw her at the church where she was singing as a group member of the choir & later met her at a local private coffee shop. As of curiosity and because the narrator was an American whom she, has seen in the church when she was singing in the choir group, she went to his table to have a chat with him and socialize herself. During the conversation between them, as she came to know about him that he is a sort of writer, she asked him to write a squalid story, which is not childish, for her. She also took his address so that she would be able to write to him and thus remain in contact with him. After that the author, as Sergeant X, went for the war in Germany where he fought in the D-Day & in subsequent five campaigns of the war along with a companion, corporal Z. The war had a very negative impact on his physical & mental health. He wasn't able to come through the war with all his faculties intact, the war has disturbed him severely. Because of his bad health he visited hospital two times and has lost a considerable amount of his weight. He came to his centre at Gaufurt, Bavaria after spending two weeks at the hospital. The next starting scene of the later & I think, the important part of the story begins with when he was sitting at the wooden chair and their was a table which was messed up with letters, parcels which were not been opened for quiet long time. The Narrator disguised as Sergeant X, took his brother's letter & started reading it who was asking him to send some bayonets & swastikas. In frustration of his health and because of his brother's demand of materialistic things which were unimportant for him, he tore his brother's letter and threw it in the dustbin. After that he had a long interaction with his friend corporal Z. When Z went, he took his typewriter from the floor and put it on his table and thus made place for it by removing the letters & parcels aside. After sometime his eyes fell on a parcel with a green covering, which was sent by Esme. The parcel had Esme's dead Father's watch in it, which was sent by her on June 7, 1944 while he received it very late i.e. 2-3 months late in August after the end of the D-day when armistice was reached and the war was over with the German force. The parcel also contained a letter, when he read it; it greatly satisfied him and further helped him to sleep, a sleep which he was longing for long time and was not able to get because of the trauma he has suffered through-out the war time. It helped him in becoming a man with all his faculties intact i.e. fully making peace with his mind.

Author Background

The author of the story J.D.Salinger was considered as the most influential American writer of the 20th century, who was also known for his reclusive lifestyle, especially when he tried to run away from the utmost fame which he received after writing the Novel- Catcher in the Rye.   

For Esme with Love- written by J.D.Salinger is a story which reflects the trauma suffered by the soldiers, not only belonging to the axis but also from the allied or winning side like American soldiers. Salinger himself fought in the Second World War and it had a traumatic effect on Salinger health, as he suffered from a nervous break-down which was due to the war impact & of visiting the concentration camps and seeing the condition of people in concentration camps there in Germany. According to me this story is directly an outcome of his experience in the war. Another Novel of his ‘Catcher in the Rye’ also reflects the trauma effects on the people after the post-world war. This novel brought him literary fame. Such was the impact of this novel that it has become an integral part of most of the American's Psyche and was also introduced as a text curriculum in many of the schools in the US. 

Reflections of the story

I had chosen this story, as it appeared to me as a kind of love story. When I had read it first, it totally didn’t appear to be a love story. But, when I read it twice and thrice then I came to understand the inherent love within the story. Then, it appeared to me a fascinating and moving story which I was able to cherish it finally. This was apparent in the story when first, while being getting separated in the restaurant Esme forced her younger brother to kiss the Author and at second when she wrote the letter to author mentioning Charles loves you.There were two words, s-l-a-i-n & f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s and squalor or squalid which were given emphasis in the story. The former word ‘slain’ was used when her father was slain-ed in Africa. The word ‘faculties’ was used two times at first by Esme while wishing the narrator that he comes safe from war with all his faculties intact & the second time when the narrator himself described that how her letter & the watch had helped him to regain all his faculties. The narrator’s use of language appears to be sophisticated but later on due to an Army kind of environment he uses vulgar and abusive language along with Z at some point. The girl, Esme appeared to be much older than from her original age in the story as she used high vocabulary words in her language, her lady like closed mouth yawn and was also clear from her strong liking of squalid stories.  The story at first appeared to be emotionless, but after careful and again reading it appeared to me full of emotions. One of the most moving part of the story was when he was reading the inscription written in a book by a German lady whom he arrested few weeks earlier which said “Dear God, Life is hell” instantly with far more zeal than in the past few weeks when he was suffering, he took a pencil and wrote down under the inscription in the form of scribble- what is hell? It’s the suffering of being unable to love. 

Literary Elements

Plot

The plot seems clear while, when they (Narrator & Esme) first saw each other in the church & then their subsequent meeting at the restaurant, their separation at the restaurant, tearing down his brother’s letter by the Narrator because of being vexed by unimportant demands of swastikas & bayonets by his brother, coming of corporal Z and conversation with him about how Z killed the Cat and other things, in the room who was his companion all through the D-day & five campaigns & finally, finding Esme’s father’s broken watch & reading of the letter sent by Esme which gave him relief and finally a deep sleep.

Character

There are two main characters, Narrator who later on is presented in the story as Sergeant X & Esme. The other sub characters are Corporal Z, Esme’s brother, aunt & Governess, Z’s Mother, Z’s girlfriend Loretta, narrator’s wife & mother in law.

Theme

The main theme is love which is not conveyed explicitly but is conveyed implicitly. It is also about the war impact on people not only on their physical health but mental trauma which people suffer during war time.

Setting

The time-frame of the story begins before the narrator goes on for the D-day invasion in the Year 1944, after his pre-invasion training at Devon, England. At Devon he meets the girl & promised her for writing a squalid story for her. The second part of the story the Narrator described himself as Sergeant X, a person suffering of the mental trauma due to the war impact on him, physically weak, sitting on a chair in a dark room as he was also having problem with the light. 

Interpretation of the story in the group

We all felt that the story was very bizarre, incoherent in nature particularly at the later part of the story when the narrator describe himself as X. Most of us were questioning about, what was the need for him to hide himself as Sergeant X and not letting the story to move smoothly as the first part while his meeting with Esme at Devon. Why he has made the later part of his story a mess as was his table messed up with paper, letters, parcels & books? What was the need to make it incoherent? He himself said before starting the second part of the story as “I’m not at liberty to disclose. I’ve disguised myself so cunningly that even the cleverest reader wouldn’t be able to recognize me”. He may have disguised himself because of the war situation at that time. Other thoughts which were reflected in our discussion were that the story is a blend of many genres such as it is not only a love story as it may seem but it has war like situation, the trauma which people suffer in such situation such as the trauma suffered by German lady & the narrator himself while there are some who show their strength in such situation like Corporal Z. Another question which was raised in our discussion about the narrator’s own experience of war linked to the story. When I have searched about the narrator who himself have participated in D-Day and has suffered through mental trauma. I felt it correct that he would have related his experience of war in this story or this story was an outcome of his experience of war like situation. For this reason this story appeared to me as an example of, which involves the Transactional criticism. While reading the story I experience the transactional process between the text and I as a reader was highly personal, which I think was also true for my group mates in the literary discussion where I think each one of us was linking their own Individual experience with the text. This was evident when in the discussion when we had dissimilar kind of thoughts about the interpretation of the text. For example, some were saying that the story was a result of the Author's experience of war while some were saying, that one can write such a story without having prior experience of war, so the story has nothing to do with the author's experience.

I enjoyed the plot part the most and how the character presented themselves, which also gave me an essence of how personality of a person differs from one person to another, How some things which are important for one are unimportant for the other one. As for Corporal Z for whom life is meant to be lived with fun, who seeks love in enjoyment, dance, music & radio programs. In contrast to Z, X sought love in silence, with reading of the books, text & his writings. This was apparent from the 2 incidents, first while when he himself wrote under the inscription written by the German lady in her book & second when he saw the broken watch & the letter of Esme. For X emotions were his energy with which he sees the world & live his life.

A word ‘Squalor’ which means similar to morally degrading, appeared very interesting to me as I have for the first time came across this word. For the first time when I have read the story the latter half of the story really appeared as squalid but when I read it twice & thrice then it appeared to me a remarkable and fascinating story which has been disguised so beautifully. 

Being part of the circle helped me in knowing different perspectives among us of the same story. I enjoyed the agreement & disagreement among us, but I think there was far more which the story wants to say, but we were reiterating our own interpretation seeming my point is the only right point and ending up with that. I think that's the beauty of a good literature, a good story which says make out what you want to make. If we agreed to our peer's perspective we had a new & different perspective & if not, then we are left with the same perspectives of the story. This also applies to children's literature as in it there is a message, a world of aesthetics, but who can enjoy & appreciate it? Only those who do have an experience of it, As a text about real world & real things makes much sense to children even adults rather than the text which talks about the virtual world.

Reflections

The story with its title gives a cue that it's a gift by the author to a girl named Esme. While reading the story for the third time I was moving with the story, as if it was me who was one of the participants in the story. I felt the story, the trauma suffered by Sergeant X and after that though I much wishing to not being able to go for Esme’s marriage. Literary discussion helped each one of us to put our thoughts & most of us were coming up with the similar kind of thoughts. But, according to me we all were not well able to connect with the story. We all, at various point of our lives suffer from mental trauma; we want to forget it, as we live our days we want to remove it from our mind. The important thing is to draw connection, a kind of linkage through these stories. We all do have a lot of stories beneath our heart & we should share it & connect with what we read.  According to me, only then, the lesson of the reading could last in our hearts and minds forever. 

After participating in this process, I have understood that there are multi-perspective of the same story but there is one common theme which link each perspective with one another like the sun surrounded by the nine planets. As a reader I have understood that reading a story or a literature once & then forming opinion about it is not fair, I need to read it twice & thrice, thus would I be able to see & experience it in a new & better manner. Literary discussion has its own significance but it has limitations too. As it's been said, words represent the world. Though we live in one world but each one of us has his own world, with which one view & creates one's perceptions. Literary discussion can help us to know different, surprising perception which can leads to social cohesion and a more democratic environment where everyone is seen as Equal.