Re: two rats

That's a good observation with some qualifications, of course -- not all
literature has a clearly defined "moral" (although most could be said to assume
some particular moral point of view), the author may not be consciously aware of
the "moral" his or her work advocates, the author may just think he/she is writing
BS, etc.

Then there are some types of literature that are pretty resistant to these kinds
of interpretations. Some of Shakespeare's plays, for example -- Richard II,
Measure for Measure. The characters created by Robert Browning's poetry. We see
the depiction of competing points of view in Shakespeare without clearly seeing
him come down on one side or the other. We see Browning's characters presented in
all their unselfconscious "themhood" for lack of a better word.

I think Salinger, though, more often than not wrote with a specific moral point of
view in mind. And you probably really nailed it, I think, with what you said he
was trying to accomplish with his characters...

course, on some level this may not be a "moral" point of view at all, but a
depiction of the family Salinger wishes he had.

Jim

"Matthew S. Mahoney" wrote:

> while i realize how incredibly broad this argument is, i think when we are
> asking this question (are the protagonist or other characters a reflection of
> the author?) we must first ascertain what objective the author has in mind
> with his work, what moral he is trying to convey. as it is a general human
> tendency to attempt to promote yourself and your life philosophies as the
> correct path, i think that behavior is even more prominent among authors
> (indeed, what else are they there for?). for what are authors if they are not
> passionate about their work and ideas? and how can you be passionate about
> something in which you have no part, or to which you are not intimately
> connected? while there may not be a direct correlation between the author's
> behavior or topical personality, there is almost undoubtedly one between what
> he sees as the correct mode of living and what the characters purport-i.e.
> salinger, being a grumpy, stingy, reticent, condescending old man, bears
> little or no resemblance to his main characters-the perfect, precocious,
> always selfless seymour, teddy, and others-and perhaps that, what the author
> wishes for himself in his 'heart of hearts,' is the most intimate glance we
> can get.
>
> >===== Original Message From Jim Rovira <jrovira@drew.edu> =====
> >That's what I said, Levi, in the second sentence. "It's always a reflection
> of
> >yourself somehow."
> >
> >So what are you arguing with? :)
> >
> >See, if the characters an author creates could be similar to their own
> >personalities, an invented alter-ego, or based upon some jerk in a
> supermarket
> >that the author met some time back....how do the readers know which of these
> is
> >being reflected in the author's fiction? Somehow I think the alter-ego or
> the
> >characters similar to the author's own personality are much more like looking
> up
> >the author's skirt than the character that's based on a jerk the author
> happened
> >to meet in a supermarket one day. While everything is based upon the
> author's
> >personal experience, some of it is more personal than others.
> >
> >Sometimes we're just looking at the author's left elbow and not at the
> author's
> >underwear. :)
> >
> >But we can never really tell with much certainty which we're looking at.
> >
> >Jim
> >
> >lray wrote:
> >
> >> Jim wrote:
> >>
> >> >After all, you're creating a character, not necessarily yourself, in a
> story.
> >> >It's always a reflection of yourself somehow, but how or why or in what
> way
> >> is
> >> >always up for grabs...
> >>
> >> But isn't everything one writes a manifestation of what they have read,
> seen,
> >> done, experienced? If this is so then everything we produce comes from a
> part
> >> of ourselves previously hidden.
> >> So you create a new character, could be similar to your own personality,
> could
> >> be an alter-ego you've never told anyone about, could be based on some jerk
> >> you met in the market a year ago who left a mark cause he bumped you the
> wrong
> >> way. I just think that Cecilia's statement about one being able to see up
> >> one's skirt for the women or the cross-dressers or our metaphorical
> underpants
> >> for us guys is pretty true. Having someone read something you've written
> and
> >> spent time on is like a first date, you are hoping to impress but your
> hopes
> >> aren't very high. Sweaty palms and underarms, that sort of thing. I can
> >> never be in the same room because I inevitably end up searching the
> person's
> >> face for any reaction whatsoever and end up riding a roller coaster of
> >> dissapointment and excitement.
> >> Ah well, my comment might be for naught but at least I am back talkin' on
> the
> >> list.
> >> A bit of a blurb...
> >> -Levi
> >>
> >> Check out my site at http://ruonthelevel.com/
> >> and if all else fails try http://ruonthelevel.no-ip.com/
> >>
> >> -
> >> * Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
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>
> " I would gladly trade all my friends for the company of children."
> -Albert Einstien
>
> Matthew S. Mahoney
> Station B 8209
> matthew.s.mahoney@vanderbilt.edu

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