Re: the lurkers
Joshiwosh@aol.com
Wed, 29 Dec 1999 23:48:54 -0500 (EST)
That was poetry, brother. Or, at least, nice writing.. I, myself, am a
dreaded *Lurker*. But I am persuaded to speak up.. at least for a moment.
Oh, yeah, this will be a long post so you can delete it now if you don't
want to read my rambling.
I am sitting here in my filthy bedroom, listening to radiohead and trying
to put my words out simply. I consider myself an amateur writer though I've
never finished a story or gotten more than ten pages into a novel. I enjoy
the simple, though as a young student with a large vocabulary I find it a
difficult task indeed, to create something as beautiful as the music I hear
or the stories of Salinger and Hemingway. I'm creative, but maybe not
genius. I love the conversation going at the moment about relationships and
Caulfield obsessions. I hesitate to admit that I wish I was Holden. I
admire his bravery and courage.. he can stand up to his enemies if only in
his own, twisted ways. As to the crap about Holden having "serious
psychological issues" I think Salinger's point is missed if his audience
cannot understand his main character.. You see, Holden's(or Salinger's) is
the only voice that really cuts through the crap that post-war america piled
on higher and deeper in the nineteen fifties. Holden is about as honest as
we got in this century, without fighting any political battles or even having
a steady job. There really is a fine line between insanity and genius and
holden walks it with ease, if not being so careful as to keep himself from
leering to either side every once and awhile. But I don't see how having a
knack for description and a love for honesty makes Holden psychologically
troubled.
Did anyone by any chance see the movie Pleasantville? The most powerful
part of the movie I thought was when he was explaining catcher in the rye to
the naive teenagers in the burger joint. I enjoyed the movie but I guess
that part was what made it personal.
Joshie.