tern philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism. This affliction pushed Salinger in his later works to stray from his original foundation and fundamental Western ideals of literature and begin incorporating Eastern philosophy into his work. Many critics condemn these resulting works and a few even go as far as saying that Salinger has lost his touch. Possibly due to such criticism, but for still unknown reasons, after the publication of his short story, "Seymour: An Introduction," Salinger fled to a remote cabin outside the tiny town of Cornish, New Hampshire (population 1,659) in 1953. Since 1953 there been no public statement from Salinger himself and little knowledge has ever leaked out beyond his fence line regarding his personal life and habits. However, Salinger's monolithic silence appears to be ending. Late in 1999 Salinger's first publication in 36 years was made available, a short story entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", which is the finale to the Glass family story that is contained in all of Salinger's works except his novel The Catcher in the Rye. The signifigance of the date of publication is undetermined, but it may be a sign that, at the age of 80, Salinger may finally be ending his reclusive demeanor. Currently, Salinger is still the mystery of the literary world. "Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger." -Franklin Jones* As with any famous author, criticism is never a unanimous voice. Critical evaluations of Salinger's work is divided, with some critics going as far as to labeling the work "profound" and others to denouncing it as "immature" (CA 997). As for the negative criticism that Salinger receives, the majority of it derives from the questionable importance and impact of Salinger's incorporation of Eastern philosophy into his later works. Linda Gorden attributes the integration of Eastern philosophy to "[Salinger's] no longer trying to please the conventional r...
