Re: Mr. Antolini

Susan.E.Pearson-1 (susanp@ou.edu)
Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:55:05 -0600 

Your post about Mr. Antolini was just what I needed on this rainy
Tuesday morning after a night that has seen no sleep but tasted much
coffee. I think you hit the nail on the head. Mr. A is trying to be the
catcher, after all he warns Holden about falling. You are right, he is
Holden, he does understand, he is one of us! Thank you for providing a
moment of lucidity on a blustery day. While I am at it, thank you all
for being around and reminding me of who's who and what's what on a
daily basis. 
Bye now and please pardon all of my comma splices,
Susan

Brendan McKennedy wrote:
> 
> One thing that has always bugged me about Catcher is the incident with Mr. Antolini.
>  I've never understood it, and I've never been satisfied to dismiss it by simply
> thinking that Mr. Antolini was making a homosexual pass at Holden, or even molesting
> Holden in his sleep.  (As with everything in that novel) I believe there's something
> more important, more duplicitous involved.  After all, besides the nuns and Phoebe,
> Mr. Antolini was about the only character appearing in the story who didn't disappoint
> Holden with phoniness.
> 
> Until the last time I read Catcher, I always dismissed the Antolini incident with
> some discomfort, and kept reading.  But last month, when I read it, I got stuck on
> it and couldn't get past it.
> 
> For the first time, Mr. Antolini started to remind me of Buddy Glass, as well as
> Seymour in "Bananafish". (Although I suppose that's still Buddy, since in S:AI, Buddy
> admits that Seymour's character in "Bananafish" was more himself than Seymour--but
> that's for another day...)  He also reminded me of Sergeant X a little.
> 
> Mr. Antolini reminded me of Buddy in the way he analyzed everything with this ridiculous
> wit.  But that's not really important.
> 
> The reason he reminded me of Sergeant X and Seymour in "Bananafish" is because Seymour
> seems to, er...I don't know how to put it tastefully!
> Seymour seems a little bit interested in his little friend.  I don't mean to say
> that he's a child molester, but I do think that he's idealized children so much that
> he's sort of fallen in love with them, in a very adult way.  I haven't got any evidence
> to support that; it's just a feeling I get.  I get the same feeling between Sergeant
> X and Esme.  I almost get the same feeling between Holden and Phoebe.  When Holden
> is dancing with those three Seattle girls in the Lavender Room, and he's trying to
> make a move on the blonde (Laverne?), all he can talk about is Phoebe.  Salinger
> was too conscientious a writer to let so important a character as Phoebe just waltz
> meaninglessly into one of Holden's sexual escapades.
> 
> Writing about it, I was just thinking that Mr. Antolini is what Holden will become.
>  I think Mr. Antolini has fallen in love with innocence in the same way Holden has.
>  Mr. Antolini is also drunk, and I know that when Holden gets drunk is the point
> where he begins to fall.
> 
> I don't know.  I've just always been intrigued with Mr. Antolini.  Someone let me
> know what you think.
> 
> Brendan.
> 
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