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How Masculine Failure Creates Madness and Genius in the works of J.D. Salinger
Madness and genius are two mental afflictions thought to walk hand-in-hand in the
human psyche. History provides countless examples of geniuses that made critical
contributions to their fields while suffering from apparent mental illnesses. The trope of
the tortured genius has become so ingrained in our culture that in modern times, it has
even become the subject of scientific analysis, with studies finding correlation between
intelligent and/or creative minds and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. The
works of writer J.D. Salinger, albeit limited, provide an excellent framework to examine
this association as it relates to men and masculinity.
In his last published novel, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour
an Introduction, Salinger coins the term variously notorious Sick Men to describe the
men he turns to when he wants credible information about the artistic process. These
men are: Franz Kafka, Sren Kierkegaard, Vincent van Gogh, and the fictional Seymour
Glass. Although not stated, it is clear that the Sickness of which Salinger speaks is not
physical. Salinger refers to these men as under-adjusted bachelors, reinforcing their
inability to conform to societys expectation they be involved with women and hinting
that their Sickness is linked to their masculinity, or lack thereof. Here, Salinger is also
playing on the popular opinions about these men, rather than what may have been their
true lived experiences. Society tends to view these men in particular as having a large
amount of talent, and a large amount of angst, a word Kierkegaard himself coined.
In order to analyze how all three of these men failed to adhere to the standards of
masculinity, it is important to first define masculinity in post World War II American
References:
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/are-genius-and-madnessrelated-contemporary-answers-ancient-question