Re: among the innocent

Camille Scaysbrook (c_scaysbrook@yahoo.com)
Thu, 26 Aug 1999 17:40:58 +1000

Scottie wrote:
>     I'll have to read the Catcher again but the image I retain
>     over the years of the essential Holden is not really that
>     of the bully's victim.

I'd have to agree with Scottie here. To be the bully's victim, you have to
be part of the system that encompasses both tormented and tormentor.
Holden's main hallmark seems to be the fact that he has jumped out of the
system altogether. I would imagine he was a lot like me at school (but then
again we all do (: ) - people don't quite know what to make of him, and
therefore just leave him alone. But I wouldn't necessarily peg him as a
member of the `in crowd' either, because that would necessitate him caring
what others think of him - which he only does when he *inadvertantly* shows
off his affluence. As for the urbanity - survival rather than desire. Each
and every club he goes to he thinks is crumby, whether or not it's trendy.
Yes, I think you should go with your second instinct - that Holden moves
outside such strictures.

Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com


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