Teddy

by J.D. Salinger

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, American, Classics, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Literature

42 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Works, most notably novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of American writer Jerome David Salinger often concern troubled, sensitive adolescents.

People well know this author for his reclusive nature. He published his last original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Reared in city of New York, Salinger began short stories in secondary school and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948, he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker, his subsequent home magazine. He released an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield especially influenced adolescent readers. Widely read and controversial, sells a quarter-million copies a year.

The success led to public attention and scrutiny: reclusive, he published new work less frequently. He followed with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton. In the late 1990s, Joyce Maynard, a close ex-lover, and Margaret Salinger, his daughter, wrote and released his memoirs. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but the ensuing publicity indefinitely delayed the release.

Another writer used one of his characters, resulting in copyright infringement; he filed a lawsuit against this writer and afterward made headlines around the globe in June 2009. Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Thanh Thanh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine Stories ended with a bang.

[Kirsten Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliant short story. The peculiar descriptions used for the characters really paints who they are. We have no background information and have no idea really who is who or what's going on until towards the end when it's slowly revealed. Yet the dialogue and interactions are just enough to create these interesting characters and dynamics. THIS is how you write a great short tale. The dialogue from Teddy is fascinating, and the finale of the story is as well.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't think a review or summary of this book would do it justice. read it.

[Branko Nikovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best JD's short stories.
We do not know if Seymour Glass is [like] Teddy or viceversa, but we know their epistemiological idiosyncrasy.
Maybe deserved an entire novel. As Holden Caulfield. With the entire concept about Eastern Philosophy, reincarnation, nirvana etc.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of salinger’s best works of all time

[Masha M · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great short story, it has so many levels, truly quantum narrative. The form will also be an adventure for readers, Salinger switches from the detailed description to an abstract philosophy and back.
Interesting to think about possible interpretations of the ending.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Teddy McArdle is such a unique character- this story seems more symbolic than most of Salinger's, and definitely thought provoking. Children definitely think more simply & closer to the truth than the complications we add as we (doubtfully) mature- not that Teddy is a typical 12 year old at all. "Life is a gift horse, in my opinion." Another reviewer thought there were quantum elements here, & there might be something to that. 4.5 stars

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was brilliant. This story did make me have second thoughts about life. Now i’m more interested in reincarnation. I’ll definitely read the other 8 stories.

[kas☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Paige Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2: An old couple like George Castanza’s parents violently/hilariously bickers while their son, Teddy, horses around a ship. He seems remarkably articulate, as if this is some satire about adults/his ogre-ish parents. Salinger definitely has a recurring theme w/ obese women and b!tchy men. Though this story is supposed to demonstrate Buddhist concepts, that would require too much insider knowledge to get, so the tale just comes off ironic. Frankly, knowing the true meaning of the beginning puts me off the piece, finding it too hokey and too unrealistic a worldview, making it all the stranger misanthropic Salinger seriously considered it among his prolific cult-hopping. Once the actual spiritual talk begins, raising fascinating questions about reincarnation and things all being tied to each other like an arm is just part of a whole body vs medicine, etc, it just all seems too silly and piecemeal never to be even 1/5 complete coming out of a rushed 10 y/os mouth.

[Franny Glass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. Loved the way Teddy feels/thinks. It is an exploration of Eastern mysticism, particularly the Vedantic theory of reincarnation which really interests me. I really recommend reading Nine Stories, it ends with Teddy. What a great way of ending this series.

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those stories that makes you walk outside and appreciate each breath of air, each step. Reminds you to live in the moment and not rush through each activity just to get to the next.

I was reminded of a thought I had back when I first started trying to make sense of the world: I am everyone and everyone is me. I am every tree, every bird, and every person. And they are all me.

This is one of those stories that makes me believe in God.

[Briseida Alcalá · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrative explores themes of logic, perception, and spirituality. Characters discuss the limitations of logic and the desire to transcend human experiences such as birth and death. Salinger emphasizes the need to discard intellectual constraints to perceive deeper truths beyond superficial existence.


https://briseidaalcala.com/2025/04/07...

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started this story several times and finally read it. The title character, a gifted child, a boy genius, reads today as someone who might be on the spectrum.

This was a 5 star story for me, right up to the end. I re-read the end this morning, and the foreshadowing, to try and figure out what is implied, and what might have happened. The ending is ambiguous and disturbing, and that detracted from the weight of the rest of the story.

[marcreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn fine story :) Especially as I’m about to board a cruise !

I wonder why Salinger writes from a kids perspective so well ? Maybe a better way of putting it is writing how people act towards a child, because Teddy doesn’t act very childlike at all. This reminds me of how Harper Lee wrote Scout, how adults would treat her.

Thank you Avery, I think Joe would like it.

[Brooksie Fontaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant and rather trippy story that feels like an overheard conversation.

Encompasses a lot of philosophical principles, and put into words a lot of things I've contemplated, like death as a form of waking up from a dream and how that would recontextualize many experiences.

A great conclusion to Salinger's collection of Nine Stories.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister was only a very tiny child then, and she was drinking her milk, and all of a sudden I saw that she was God and the milk was God. I mean, all she was doing was pouring God into God, if you know what I mean."

Salinger put into words how to see reality. And as a result, how to flow with it. In a story which takes place from 10:00-10:30 a.m..

[Margarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo he consumido en audiolibro y me ha gustado mucho el narrador y los personajes. La historia se me ha quedado un poco difusa y me gustaría leerlo en papel con más calma. Tampoco descarto volver a escucharlo.
Destaco la reflexión del final sobre la educación.

[Claire Greweling · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happened to the little girl in the pool? There are really no definites in this life and I suppose, not in this story. An arm is not an arm, the grass is not always green, and an elephants trunk may or may not exist. One thing is certain, this was hell of a way to wrap up Nine Stories

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The point is if his dog really died, it would be exactly the same thing. Only, he wouldn't know it. I mean he wouldn't wake up till he died himself."

A must-read!!! I'll definitely go over it more than once in my life.

[Sohail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great writing, marred by superstition.

[Osmany Cruz Ferrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me incomodó la historia. En ocasiones me pareció inverosímil. El final es lo peor, una incógnita de difícil resolución, me quedé en shock, como si me pegaran con un ladrillo en la cabeza.

[Elmin Ağahəsənli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cerom Devid Selincerin “Teddi “ qısa hekayəsi.

[Izar · Rating 5 out of 5]

El segundo cuento de Salinger que leo y la verdad me estoy adicionando a su escritura, hay algo en ella que me cautiva.

[Rosa M · Rating 3 out of 5]

....3.75. it was good. Idk man I don't have anything else to say. I feel like I know J.D. Salinger tho which is weird

[Michael M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. 4.5, I think.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ADORED this

[Kathy Mitson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

[Ivy Marksbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fav

[Shanelle Ypema · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately I can’t stand an ending that’s open to interpretation / unclear. Plz just tell me what happened.