For Esme—with Love and Squalor (1950). Content and Description

The sixth tale in the Nine Stories collection, “For Esme—with Love and Squalor,” first appeared on April 8, 1950, in the New Yorker. Since its initial publication, professional critics and casual readers have admired the story, considered, alongside The Catcher in the Rye and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” among Salinger’s finest works.

As “For Esme—with Love and Squalor” opens, the unnamed narrator, a writer and former soldier, reveals his occasion for writing the story: He has recently received a wedding invitation from Esme, a girl with whom he has not spoken in six years. The invitation prompts him to recall a promise he made the day he met Esme, to write a story for her, preferably one “about squalor.” Two stylistically distinct vignettes make up “For Esme.” In the first, the narrator recalls, in the first person, his first and only direct contact with Esme while in London during World War II. Having just finished special operations training for the imminent D-day invasions, the narrator enjoys some rare time away from his fellow soldiers, watching a children’s choir practice before sitting down for a cup of tea at a local cafe.

Thirteen-year-old Esme, a member of the choir, enters shortly afterward and strikes up a conversation with the narrator, expressing interest in English and American cultural differences. Upon her departure with her caretaker aunt and young brother, Esme promises to correspond with the soldier, requests a story of “squalor,” and expresses hope that the narrator will return with his “faculties in tact.” The second vignette transpires roughly a year later, shortly after the Allied victory in Europe.

Set in a small Bavarian town, the narration shifts to third person, describing “Sergeant X’s” failure to keep his faculties intact. Suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, Sergeant X discusses a series of trivialities with a fellow soldier before discovering a misplaced package from Esme, which turns out to contain her deceased father’s watch and the letter she had promised. Lost for more than a year, the correspondence and gift make him sleepy for the first time in months.

As all of Salinger’s pre-Glass family stories do, “For Esme” ends on an ambiguous note, leaving the conclusion open for interpretation. However, for most readers, Sergeant X’s sleepiness signals the return of his faculties, a recovery prompted by the kindness of another. Esme’s generous spirit—love, as the story’s title suggests—enables the narrator to remember what love feels like, a feeling that prompts him to write the story he promised. Although the second vignette makes up “the squalid part of the story,” the closing paragraphs take the story full circle. Sandwiched between two acts of benevolence, squalor appears as a temporary human condition, one that love can undo. Even in his darkest moments, Sergeant X foreshadows the theme, quoting Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov: “Fathers and teachers, I ponder ‘What is hell?’ I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”

Salinger composed “For Esme—with Love and Squalor” at the height of his powers, both as a short story writer and as an observer of human psychology. While many of his earlier stories realistically capture individual experiences in the modern West, their tone and characterization are often myopic and pessimistic. In them there is little room for human potential. Salinger’s later works, especially the Glass family saga, allow for human potential but suggest that only spiritually enlightened geniuses possess it.

These stories are didactic, presenting a model for the unenlightened majority to mimic. “For Esme—with Love and Squalor” finds a rare middle ground, capturing the horrors of modernity without resorting to despair or finger wagging.

For Discussion or Writing:
1. Salinger is famous for his fascination with young characters, especially those struggling with their own immaturity. Esme, on the other hand, is uncommonly mature for a 13-year-old. In this respect, she shares an important personality trait with the title character in “Teddy,” the final tale in the Nine Stories collection. After reading both stories, compare Esme with Teddy. What do they have in common? Is one character more believable than the other? To answer this question, list each character’s strengths and weaknesses. Which is the more fallible individual? Which is the more believable? Is there a link between fallibility and “being human”?

2. Locate the passages in “For Esme” when the narrator underscores wartime differences between civilians and soldiers. Use these as jumping-off points to discuss whether those who do not have combat experience can relate to those who have. Is Salinger making an antiwar statement?

3. While researching posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), read a few accounts of soldiers, who, upon returning from combat, suffer from PTSD. Try to find one account from World War II and another from a more recent conflict, such as the U.S.-led war in Iraq. If time permits, read “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” noting Seymour Glass’s postwar instability. Compare Salinger’s fictional accounts with the nonfictional ones.