Similarities Between Salinger And Harper Lee s The Rye

What is a Man but the Sum of his Experiences A well known adage in the literary world, is for writers to â€Å"write what they know†. In many cases this rings to be true, perhaps the writers will set their story in a place they once lived, base a character on someone they once knew. It’s quite evident that in the novels Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird there are striking similarities between these novels and their respective authors’ own lives. It could be said, that these authors simply used their own experiences as inspiration to their novels. However, when taken into consideration that protagonists own conflicts are indistinguishable between their own author s personal struggles. It is feasible in stating that J.D. Salinger and Harper Lee based their novel s’ protagonist based on their own existences. Notably, Jerome David Salinger aka J. D. Salinger, was born January 1st, 1919 in New York City, to Sol and Marie Salinger. His father ran a successful cheese and ham business, his father was of Jewish descent and his mother Scottish. Being in an upper-middle class afforded J. D. Salinger the opportunities for higher education, but being a good student never seemed to be a priority to him. After flunking out of the McBurney School located in the Upper West Side, his parents sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA. Subsequently, J. D. Salinger never finished his post secondary education, he traveled Europe, while working for his father’s