Soft-Boiled Sergeant

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"Soft-Boiled Sergeant" is a short story by J. D. Salinger. Written before he had actually seen combat during World War II, "Soft-Boiled Sergeant" chronicles a young soldier's entry into the military.

The title refers to the good-natured Staff Sergeant whom the young soldier meets.

Despite its military setting and condemnation of "phoniness," this is primarily a story about love written at a difficult stage Salinger's personal life. It was originally titled "Death of a Dogface."

v • d • e Works by J. D. Salinger

Novels:	The Catcher in the Rye (1951) • Franny and Zooey (1961)

Short story collections:	Nine Stories (1953) • Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963)

Short stories:	"Blue Melody" • "Both Parties Concerned" • "A Boy in France" • "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period" • "Down at the Dinghy" • "For Esmé with Love and Squalor" • "Go See Eddie" • "The Hang of It" • "Hapworth 16, 1924" • "The Heart of a Broken Story" • "I'm Crazy" • "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" • "Last Day of the Last Furlough" • "The Laughing Man" • "The Long Debut of Lois Taggett" • "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" • "Once a Week Won't Kill You" • "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" • "Personal Notes of an Infantryman" • "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes" • "Slight Rebellion off Madison" • "Soft-Boiled Sergeant" • "Teddy" • "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" • "The Varioni Brothers" • "The Young Folks"