Re: Salinger's world
Camille Scaysbrook (c_scaysbrook@yahoo.com)
Sun, 15 Aug 1999 19:05:38 +1000
Colin Pink wrote:
> I think it would be fair to say that JDS has a narrow range. I'm not
> sure how significant that is. If one ploughs a narrow but deep furrow
> maybe one can end up unearthing as many worms as covering the whole
> field. Most writers tend to be fairly limited in their subject matter
> anyway, and a lot of great ones are none the worse for it.
I think the best literature is that which, despite the minutitae (sp?) of
his or her observation (or because of it? As I used to tell my playwriting
students `Observe carefully and specifically rather than broadly and
generically, as people will empathise. Not with the specifics, but with the
very act of observation') could have happened anywhere at any time in
history. The very fact that Catcher has its roots in legends such as that
of Gautama Buddha and his bretheren points to the fact that Holden's
adventures could have taken place in ancient India as easily as modern New
York? Something like `Ulysses' would fall into the same category. Whereas,
say, `Franny' to me would in a strange way not, despite the fact that her
concerns are in many ways similar to Holden's.
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com