Re: Why Glass?

Subject: Re: Why Glass?
From: Will Hochman (hochman@southernct.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 21 2001 - 20:38:33 GMT

Jim & Ted, I used to think as you do, that the best of Salinger that
I could tap was not in New Hampshire but on the page and I still
think that's basically true. It is certainly easier to ignore new
information for some readers. Wimsatt and Beardsley wrote about the
intentional fallacy in l948 or l949 and that helped the New Critics
stay happy to look only at literature's text. But these days, I think
"the text" is more than what is written on the page. When readers
bring themselves to Salinger's fiction, understanding of the author
as a person can create interesting interpretations and expand the
reader's sense of the text in some interesting ways. I'm simply
saying that Salinger's biographical information changes how I can
read his fiction. I don't think ignoring information about
literature makes me a better reader. Before you attack, I'm not
saying the biographical information about Salinger is a key that
unlocks his fiction. It isn't essential or even necessary, but
Salinger's biographical information can affect my interpretations and
after all these years of reading and re-reading Salinger, I'm glad
for new insights. will . 

-- 
	Will Hochman

Assistant Professor of English
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515
203 392 5024

http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html

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