Uncle Wiggily Analysis

Published two years apart, J. D. Salinger’s “For Esmé - with Love and Squalor” and “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” contrast in content and in tone, with “Uncle Wiggily” following a meeting between two upper class women and “For Esmé” following a World War II veteran’s recollection of his past experiences. One major subject matter present in both stories, though, is that of the effects of war on one’s mentality, its inspiration drawn directly from Salinger’s own experiences in the second world war. In relation to that, one of the prevailing themes delineated in Salinger’s “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” and “For Esmé - with Love and Squalor” is the severity of war and its effects on those directly and indirectly involved; however, surpassing that …show more content…
Salinger’s message conveyed through the text, specifically that of “For Esmé”, is evidently one that reaches out to his fellow veterans and their loved ones, a message that voices his own belief that there is indeed hope, hope that moving on from the distress of war can occur. Nevertheless, the meaning of the text goes beyond the message of the writer; it can be perceived that the difference in the messages and endings of these two stories mirrors the life of Salinger himself. Written earlier, “Uncle Wiggily” shows Salinger’s own discontent towards life, and ends simply upon the epiphany, come to by Eloise, that change towards a more positive outlook on life would be for the better. In contrast, “For Esmé”, published two years later, ends with the protagonist, Sergeant X, seeing the commencement of his recovery from the dreaded war-induced mental instability, a warmer ending and a sign of Salinger’s own mental state; though battered and broken from the war, he finds himself walking a path towards