Re: Why Salinger Intrigues Me
Kira126@aol.com
Tue, 25 Aug 1998 16:12:07 -0400 (EDT)
I enjoyed what you had to say about Salinger and have the same
questions about him also. Although I respect his privacy, it's hard not to get
frustrated with his lifestyle; the strictest privacy and ultimate secrecy.
When a reader is so enamored with a writer's works, it is only natural to be
curious about the writer. There are so many peculiar things about Salinger
that I find most intriguing, one of them being the one you have stated: Why
does he hide from his readers when we know him and love him so well through
his honest and nakedly candid work? I believe that although he obviously cares
what we think of him, [This being proven through all the call backs for
provisions on his long awaited comeback, Hapworth] he would live reclusively
no matter our opinion of him and his work. I do believe that it is helpful to
better understand the writings of an author with information about him or her,
however, I don't think it is necessary. Especially for a writer like
Salinger, whose characters seem to reflect his own personal ideas about being
human. But then one comes to the questions, How can this be answered about an
author who hides from the world? How can w know what his ideas about the
human experience really are? Are Salinger's ideas, etc. truly reflected in
his work? This might be focused by close analysis of recurrent themes,
motifs, characterizations, etc. We as avid readers, would like to be able to
pry into his personal life and know the man behind the genius of his
phenomenal writings. But would this actually make his work more personal to us
at all? I think your idea is a very interesting and intricate subject for your
thesis and I know I would love to read it! Thank you for sharing.