I hate it when the media uses the term "
withdrew to a farm in rural <insert_small_town_here>". What if this was the dream he was now able to fulfill due to the success of his book? No... the media sees
living in the country as
running off to be a hermit.
I can tell you that it has always been my dream to live on a farm and be self-sufficient. I am certainly not self-sufficient as I have a job in the nearby city for support. When I drive home on Friday afternoon and the hard, cold, sterile view gives way to lush green trees and grassy fields swaying in the breeze it's like therapy. I consider it a successful weekend if I don't have to leave my farm/ranch. I get the feeling that J.D. Salinger felt the same way about his homestead in Cornish, New Hampshire.
As for Salinger limiting "his contact with the literary world"... how can you blame him? Most people are intellectually immature, wasteful and shallow. I'm sure the "literary world" is the same way.
As for his writing, he had one great work that became a staple for high school readers and should be continued in the curriculum... because it
is good.