| "The Hang of It" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by J. D. Salinger | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Collier’s |
| Publication date | 12 July 1941 |
"The Hang of It" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, first published in the July 12, 1941 issue of Collier's magazine. [1] [2] [3]
The story is a work of commercial tale about a soldier who just can't seem to get "the hang of it". It was reprinted in the 1942 and 1943 editions of the Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines by Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc.
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Salinger wrote “The Hang of It” shortly before the United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941. [4]
Discerning the “popular appetite for positive short stories about the military,” Salinger abandoned any pretense at providing “psychological depth” and crafted an O. Henry-like tale with broad appeal. “The Hang of It” was published by Collier's on July 12, 1941, show-cased in an illustrated single-page format in small typeface. [5] [6] Salinger thought highly of “The Hang of It” and was deeply gratified when Collier’s published the work, considering it a milestone in his early professional career. [7]
The story was selected for inclusion in the US Army’s 1942 and 1943 editions of Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, issued to servicemen as illustrated literary entertainment. [8] In 1943, Salinger’s publications in literary journals, including “The Hang of It, was brought to the attention of his superior officers. He was immediately assigned to the Air Force Service Command’s Public Relations Department in 1943 in Dayton, Ohio. While working in war-time public relations for the military, Salinger was screened and tapped to serve as a noncommissioned officer in the CIC. Proficient in German and French, he served as an interrogator of captured German soldiers and officers. [9]
Biographer Kenneth Slawenski speculates, based on correspondence between Ned Bradford, editor-in-chief at Little, Brown and Company publishers and Salinger, that the author considered authorizing a volume of World War II-related stories, including his 1941 “The Hang of It.” [10]
Slawenski dismisses this early effort, describing “The Hang of It” as “lacking in quality but easily sold to popular magazines.” [11] Calling the story “a brief, sentimental failure” [12] John Wenke reports that “The Hang of It” and “Personal Notes of an Infantryman” qualify only as “patriotic bromides in prose that are resolved in cute-to-sickening surprise endings.” [13] Remarking upon the “glib” handling of the narrative and its “cloying” ending, literary critic John Wenke adds this:
These portraits offer idealized accounts of unreflecting people parading through a comic-book military. What is remarkable is that “The Hang of It” [is] completely unlike Salinger’s more expansive tales of men and boys at war.” [14]
Indeed, the story contrasts sharply with Salinger’s compassionate treatment of WWII experiences of American G.I.s, in particular his “Soft-Boiled Sergeant” (1944), originally titled “Death of a Dogface.” [15]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)"Hapworth 16, 1924" is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger that appeared in the June 19, 1965, issue of The New Yorker.
"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, originally published in the January 31, 1948, issue of The New Yorker. It was anthologized in 1949's 55 Short Stories from the New Yorker, as well as in Salinger's 1953 collection Nine Stories. The story is an enigmatic examination of a young married couple, Muriel and Seymour Glass, on vacation in Florida. It is the first of his stories to feature a member of the fictional Glass family.
“Slight Rebellion off Madison” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 21 December 1946 issue of The New Yorker.
"Teddy" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, completed on November 22, 1952, and originally published in the January 31, 1953, issue of The New Yorker. Under the influence of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Salinger created an engaging child character, Teddy McArdle, to introduce to his readership some of the basic concepts of Zen enlightenment and Vedanta reincarnation – a task that Salinger recognized would require overcoming some 1950s American cultural chauvinism.
“A Boy in France” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 31 March 1945 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
“Go See Eddie” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the University of Kansas City Review in December 1940. The story is included in the 2014 Salinger collection Three Early Stories.
“The Heart of a Broken Story” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the September 1941 issue of Esquire.
“The Long Debut of Lois Taggett” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the September-October 1942 issue of Story.
“Personal Notes of an Infantryman” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the December 12, 1942 issue of Collier's.
“The Varioni Brothers” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 17 July, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
“Both Parties Concerned” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 26 February, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
“Soft-Boiled Sergeant” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 15 April, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. The story was illustrated by Graham Kaye..
“Once a Week Won’t Kill You” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the November–December 1944 issue of Story. The story is included in the 2014 Salinger collection Three Early Stories.
“Blue Melody” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the September 1948 issue of Cosmopolitan. The story was inspired by the life of Bessie Smith and was originally titled "Needle on a Scratchy Phonograph Record". Cosmopolitan changed the title to "Blue Melody" without Salinger's consent, a "slick" magazine tactic that was one of the reasons the author decided, in the late forties, that "he wanted to publish only in The New Yorker."
“Elaine” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the March-April, 1945 issue of Story.
“The Inverted Forest” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the December 1947 issue of Cosmopolitan. The work was republished in Cosmopolitan's "Diamond Jubilee" issue in March 1961. The story marked the start of Salinger's focus on the poet as a distinguished creative genius, and on the impossibilities he finds when trying to adapt to society.
"This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise" is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the October 1945 issue of Esquire. The story was published in the 1958 anthology The Armchair Esquire, edited by Arnold Gingrich and L. Rust Hills.
“A Girl I Knew” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the February 1948 issue of Good Housekeeping.
“The Young Folks” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the March–April 1940 issue of Story magazine. The story is included in the 2014 Salinger collection Three Early Stories.
Neither Salinger in his lifetime nor his estate after his death has ever authorized the publication of a volume of Salinger's registered early short fiction which appeared in magazines between 1940 and 1965. Reprints of his early stories have appeared under the auspices of Esquire and The New Yorker, to which Salinger stories had originally been sold.
