 In youth , Salinger attended public schools on the West Side of Manhattan . Then in 1932 , the family moved to Park Avenue , and Salinger was enrolled at the McBurney School , a nearby private school . At McBurney , he managed the fencing team , wrote for the school newspaper and appeared in plays . He " showed an innate talent for drama " , though his father opposed the idea of J.D. ' s becoming an actor . 
