Re: Mr. Antolini

WILL HOCHMAN (hochman@uscolo.edu)
Sat, 06 Dec 1997 12:15:32 -0700 (MST) 

Andrew, I respectfully disagree with your basic thinking.  First of all, I
don't think it's clear to holden or reader that mr. antolini is
homosexual.  I've read the text closely, as well as most of the
published criticism, and I still believe the best I can say is that it's
abiguous.  Sometimes when I read the antolini passages I feel he is simply
a compassionate, caring teacher, and sometimes I think he's compassionate,
caring, gay teacher...I think it's ok to feel and think one way or the
other, but I don't...if you do, however, think mr. antolini is gay, why is
salinger homophobic?  First of all, mr. antolini in my interpretation
welcomes holden into his home in the middle of the night--how many of us
would do that for a former student?  So I guess I'm saying if the teacher
is gay, he's still kind and if he was supposed to be seen in such a
negative light, why does he touch holden's head instead of something a bit
more "perverty"?  I think there's enough textual evidence (mr antonlini
meets with holden's father, mr. antolini tells holden some of the most
honest and direct things he hears from anyone taller than 
phoebe) to claim that if salinger is one of the few writers in the
early fifties to even discuss homosexuality, my interpretation is that mr.
salinger has not set up homophobic elements in his characterization of mr.
antolini.  

It makes sense to me that holden is so mixed up about sexuality that he
can't see one of his great teachers clearly enough to learn--but if you
think about it, antolini's prediction about holden is pretty "true" to the
book, and so the writing/telling of catcher may deductively be the way to
see how even Holden finally realizes the teacher, not the sexuality, in
the ambiguous mr. antolini.  

No shame in my interpretation, but as I say, I respect your reading Andrew
and just wanted to answer it as closely to the text and to the energy of
your post, 

will 

On Sat, 6 Dec 1997, Andrew Youn wrote:

> You know, while I didn't read all the posts so carefully regarding Mr.
> Antolini, I don't think I heard anybody criticize Salinger for his
> apparent homophobia. So I'm doing it. Shame on you, J.D. Salinger.
> 
> I don't like shaming my favorite author. Can anyone come up with a
> plausible interpretation that makes Salinger out not to be a homophobe?
> 
>