someone once asked about the salinger manuscripts at the ransom center of the
university of texas at austin...? so, i got them. here are summaries of
those for your reading pleasure. -mike
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "Birthday Boy" manuscript is nine (9) pages and undated.
The story is set in a hospital. A young man, Ray, is visited by his
girlfriend, Ethel, on his 22nd birthday. Ray is recovering from an illness
that, while unspecified, seems to have something to do with alcoholism.
The story consists primarily of dialogue. Ray gropes Ethel, then tries to
persuade her to bring him liquor so he may "test himself." When she refuses,
he curses her then orders her to leave. The story concludes with Ethel riding
the hospital elevator to the ground floor, chilled "in all the damp spots."
The manuscript has several editorial corrections on the first page. One note
reads "Hold. Consult." Another note, partially erased, asks that the
manuscript be "set up in 12 point."
The manuscript has Salinger's 1133 Park Avenue address on its first page.
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next manuscript is untitled and is ten (10) pages and undated; it has a
number of authorial edits and emendations. The manuscript is less a story
than a series of scenes not yet sewn together. The central characters are a
couple, Frank and Paula Hancher. Paula claims to be pregnant and decides that
she will stay in bed the entire course of her pregnancy. She directs her
husband to tell friends and neighbors that she's gone to help her ailing
sister in Ohio.
Months pass. The Hanchers continue the ruse for nearly a year. Ultimately,
Frank comes home, finds the bedroom door locked. Paula claims she's having
the child. Shortly thereafter, she claims she's had the child and now needs a
crib, baby clothes, etc. However, she won't let Frank in the room. Frank
provides the items she needs. Then, several days later, frustrated that he's
still not being let inside, he breaks the door down and finds Paula in the
crib.
*--------------------------------------------------------------
The last Salinger manuscript - consisting of two (2) quotations about Nazi
Germany - is one page, typed, undated. The first quotation concerns the
virtues of native German rhubarb over the "alien lemon." The quotation is
drawn from the "Nazi Tract, New Bases of Social Research" (sic).
The second quotation is from the New Yorker, May 1, 1948, about a crematorium
built in Chelmo, Poland specifically for children. The Nazis burned the bodies
of more than 600,000 children there.
-
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Received on Tue Aug 12 17:06:33 2003
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