In a message dated 97-12-30 13:24:22 EST, you write: << i was curious - what was so bad? it began a feeling of empathy > with the character before i had any sensible reason to be attached to > him. That's an intriguing observation. I've always been curious about why Salinger was so emphatic about DECLARING Seymour's death, in one form or another, in various stories. Your reaction to that warning is pretty subtle, and is a good reading of the Glass stories, in a way I *never* would have thought about. --tim o'connor >> To be honest, reading about Seymour's death in other stories had the same effect on me too. I empathized with the character, etc. In many ways his presence in multiple stories makes the family believable. Seymour was a type of guru for the family, everyone looked up to him even beyond his importance as older brother, and he killed himself at the most unexpected moment. It would have to be a defining moment for the entire family. Jim