Go See Eddie

"Go See Eddie"
Author	J. D. Salinger
Country	United States
Language	English
Published in	Kansas City Review
Publication date	1940

"Go See Eddie" was one of J. D. Salinger's first short stories. It is a tense story about a brother and sister, first published in 1940.

Go See Eddie was initially submitted to Story magazine and then Esquire before being accepted by The University Review, now known as New Letters. Forgotten for decades, this story was uncovered in 1963 by Salinger's biographer Warren French. This story is in the public domain.

Plot summary

The story consists of two siblings Bobby and Helen, and their maid Elsie. Bobby comes to see Helen who is grooming herself. He tries to convince her of several things. The first is to pursue a job with a friend of his (Eddie) and his second motive is to convince her to not commit adultery with a married man. He complains of her promiscuity and the disagreement escalates. After a brief fight, Bobby tells Helen about a rumour that she is seeing another man as well, which she denies, and the lunch he had with the wife of the man who is committing adultery with Helen. After a last attempt at telling her to go see Eddie, Bobby leaves. Helen reflects on what has transpired and starts to rectify the situation by possibly cancelling the affair. She then calls the other guy with whom she is rumoured to have an affair.