Re: Re: Curious Reactions
Brendan McKennedy (the.tourist@mailexcite.com)
Wed, 31 Dec 1997 00:02:11 -0700
><< the mom in "Uncle Wiggly"--and of
COURSE Holden,
> whose long-awaited drunkeness destroys
"Little
> Shirley Beans", a slip that begins his
Fall). >>
>How does that slip begin his fall?I keep
seeming to pick up on little things
>from this list that I don't relate to
much.So maybe you could detail this a
>little more.
>
Things go steadily downhill for Holden right
from the beginning of the book, but when he
breaks the record he was going to give to
old Phoebe, things REALLY begin to fall apart.
It's where he becomes REALLY depressed.
He loses all sense of direction after that.
Little Shirley Beans was a sort of link to
childhood, to innocence...
Alright, let me step back a second. As
Buddy would say, get a running start.
Throughout the entire story, Holden is
unable to buy drinks, but he's too young
for it. Too young--and since youth is his
(arguably faulted) representation of innocence,
the world that won't let him drink is sort of reinforcing his innocence.
When he finally drinks, though, he's crossed
that line. He can't hold on to his youth.
The record was a physical representation
of fun and innocence and childhood--and he
couldn't hold it (please consider those last
five words italicized...damn email...).
He couldn't hold it. The catcher DROPPED
the innocence. For the first time, he's
got physical proof that he CAN'T be the
catcher, because he can't hold on to
innocence without dropping it and breaking it.
He tried to hold onto the snowball in the
beginning, the snowball maybe being a small manisfestation of perfection, of purity,
but
the Adult world, via the busdriver, wouldn't
LET him keep it. But when he drops the record,
it's all his fault.
After he drops the record, he loses all sense
of direction.
Am I reaching to far here?
Brendan
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