The Stranger is a short story written by J. D. Salinger. It tells the story of Babe Gladwaller, who has recently left the 12th regiment of the army and his younger sister Mattie, and is visiting the wife of Vincent Caulfield (known as D.B. Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye). Explaining that he is in a rush, he sits down with the woman and gives her the details of Vincent's death, "shooting down" the lies of how soldiers deaths are portrayed in movies and popular culture. Upon leaving it is clear that Babe is having trouble readjusting to the civilian world, wishing you could explain to civilians the hardships of war. This was first published in the December 1945 issue of Collier's magazine.
