Re: Mr. Antolini
Peggy F. Jean-Louis (pfj6868@is.nyu.edu)
Thu, 04 Dec 1997 12:26:55 -0500 (EST)
> Reading these signs for this meaning generally leads us to see what we are
> already looking for. The only way to really trust this type of analysis is
> to look for Antonelli type characters throughout Salinger's work and find
> commonalities. It's very hard to make valid conclusions based on only one
> character in one work.
>
I disagree with that, I think an author's work should stand on its own.
As a matter of fact, that's one of the things I like most about Salinger's
work. Of course, reading his entire oeuvre enhances the experience and
understanding but it's not absolutely necessary. In fact, suggesting that
you have to read several of any author's works in order to really
understand a particular one is ridiculous, in my humble opinion.
Also, I pointed to several facts in the text as evidence that supports
Antolini's homosexuality. Now, taken separately, as you did, sure they can
all be explained away but taken *together* as I intended, I believe that
the whole added up to more than the sum of the parts.
I'm not an English major (thank god) but as my favorite English teacher
once told me, if you see something in a text, it's there. Even if the
author didn't mean to imply that, your interpretation is valid because
that's how the work spoke to you...and that's what's great about
literature. I approach each novel I read with those words in mind.
Peggy