For esme with love and squalor

“For Esmé with Love and Squalor” is a short story written by J.D. Salinger, which was first published in The New Yorker in 1950. The story is told in the first-person perspective and revolves around an American soldier stationed in England during World War II. The soldier receives a letter from a young girl named Esmé, whom he had met in a tearoom in England a few days before he was deployed to fight in the war. The story is a poignant exploration of the effects of war on the human psyche and the connections we make with others in times of crisis.

The story begins with the soldier, who remains unnamed throughout the narrative, receiving a letter from Esmé. The letter is written in a childlike handwriting and is filled with small talk and playful banter. However, as the soldier reads the letter, he begins to feel a sense of nostalgia and longing for the girl he had met in the tearoom. The letter triggers a series of memories that take the reader back to the time when the soldier and Esmé first met.

The soldier is described as a young man who is struggling to come to terms with the horrors of war. He is haunted by the memories of the battles he has fought and the death and destruction he has witnessed. He is emotionally detached from his fellow soldiers and feels alienated from the world around him. It is against this backdrop that he meets Esmé, a young girl who is wise beyond her years and seems to have a deep understanding of human suffering.

The two strike up a conversation in the tearoom, and Esmé tells the soldier about her father, who had died in the war. She talks about her father's love for books and how he had instilled a passion for reading in her. The soldier is moved by Esmé's story and begins to feel a sense of kinship with her. They exchange addresses, and Esmé promises to send the soldier a story that her father had written.

The story then shifts back to the present, where the soldier is struggling to come to terms with the memories that the letter has brought back. He is plagued by a sense of guilt and remorse, as he realizes that he has not kept his promise to Esmé. He had promised to write to her but had never gotten around to it. He is also haunted by the memories of the war, which have left him emotionally scarred and unable to connect with others.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the soldier's past and his struggle to cope with the aftermath of the war. We are also introduced to his wife, who is described as a caring and compassionate woman. The soldier's relationship with his wife is strained, and he struggles to open up to her about his feelings and experiences.

Towards the end of the story, the soldier receives a package from Esmé, which contains the story her father had written. The story is a poignant tale of a soldier who is unable to return home to his family after the war. The soldier is deeply moved by the story and is overcome by a sense of grief and loss. He realizes that the story is a metaphor for his own life, and that he too is struggling to return home from the war.

The story ends on a hopeful note, as the soldier begins to feel a sense of connection with Esmé and the memories of their encounter in the tearoom. He begins to feel a sense of hope and renewal, as he realizes that he is not alone in his struggles. The story is a powerful meditation on the human condition and the ways in which we find meaning and purpose in times of crisis. It is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of human connection.