Salinger's world
Sam Sundberg (stray@well.com)
Wed, 11 Aug 1999 13:48:49 +0200
Heh, a paradigmatic case of rock-throwing in a glass house if I ever saw
one. Scottie, the ol' man who spends half (my estimate) his online time
grumbling about upper/lower case and punctuation is asserting that there is
"something frivolous about a young woman collapsing onto a daybed because of
spiritual self-doubt". You're killing me, Mr. Bowman. ;-)
Moving away from the ad hominem attacks, I do not agree that the only
interesting, unfrivolous human crises are about physical survival and
reproduction, and I don't think a trust fund necessarily thins your soul, or
that relative economical security disqualifies your outlook on, and worries
about, the world and the society you live in.
Today, the world's resources could be used to feed the hungry and aid the
sick, but instead it's used largely for luxury consumption. I happen to
think this is a rotten state of affairs. But as we fight for the least
fortunate, we must continue to discuss the goals of humanity and society, or
there would really be no point to any of it. We should not trivialize
discussions of what it is to be human and how to -- beyond the four F's --
cope with our existence. For instance, we need to discuss art, spirituality
and the problems of conformity (and phoniness).
Yes, it is true that Salinger specializes in the sorrows of the rich. But
frankly: don't we all? Jerry just happens to write about some of these
indeed worthwhile issues very insightfully and beautifully, or so I would
contend.
By the way, this is not to say that I agree much with Eric Bartelt, which I
don't.
/Sam
Scottie Bowman wrote:
Isn't it true, though, that Salinger also specialises in
the diseases or at least the sorrows of the rich?
Eric suggests - & Hotbuns seems to agree - that Salinger
presents one of the few true pictures of the world's despair.
But does he?
When the most protected of us can't escape at least
visual images of the violence & unspeakable squalor
that a very large number of our brothers & sisters
have to confront day in day out, isn't there something
frivolous about a young woman collapsing onto
a daybed because of spiritual self-doubt? Does her creator
ever really escape the world of the Upper East Side
sophisticates who - this year - have taken up Zen,
or some non-vulgar version of Christianity but who -
next year - are quite as likely to go abroad with
the Peace Corps & - the year after that - may hunt
their salvation in cutting edge Art?
Holden was a tremendously funny book about
a tremendously likeable character who was simply
involved in the awful war of being young. We’ve all
been there - which is why most of us love him.
But that other crowd seem to me to be little more
than a bunch of rich boys with too much time
on their hands.
The Nazarene was right about the eye of the needle.
And he wasn't talking about the width of the Cadillac.
He was talking about the trivialisation of mind
that wealth produces. I think Salinger has never really
escaped its curse. Of course it's no more a curse than
the one the Kennedy's are meant to suffer. It's simply
the fatal thinning of the soul (which I don't believe exists -
but you know what I mean) that accompanies the knowledge
that Daddy or his trust fund will always be there to bail one
out.