Re: Eskimos


Subject: Re: Eskimos
From: Catherine Marie (tangerineness@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Feb 01 2000 - 23:46:44 EST


I just reread this today, and I agree with most of what you said. I would
like to add at least one little thing, which is rather related to the
meetcha at the the corner metaphor. He is wounded, and that is connected to
vulnerability. Franklin is willing to be open enough to show his vulnerable
side to other people, including those he doesn't even know. He doesn't use a
bandaid to cover it either. The "all the way to the bone" idea is I think a
suggestion of a wound that goes all the way to the soul. We see that he
doesn't hide his pain over the memory of Ginnies sister, but I don't think
it's only that memory that is bad. He seems to feel things deeply, and not
try to deny that he does. Most people try to hide their wounds, but Franklin
doesn't. I've got more to say on this, but first I need to get my thoughts
better organized.

Catherine

P.S. Is this an attempt to get people to reread all of the less often
discussed Nine Stories for deeper meaning? Say except Bananafish, Teddy and
maybe For Esme? I'm in. What shall we call this little venture, Six Stories
in Six Weeks?

>From: "Paul Miller" <phm@midsouth.rr.com>

>In "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" franklin tells us he has cut his
>finger and is quite fixed on this through the story. This story I think is
>chock full of symbols.
> His cut finger represents his pain and suffering in general. he cut it
>by
>searching for something in a waste basket full of razor blades which
>represents our culture and Franklins experience of it in his life thus far.
>Franklin tells Ginnie that "I don't like it when it stings". Ginnie tells
>him "Nobody does". Ginnie suddenly tells him "Stop touching it'. Franklin
>responds like he has had an electric shock. He sits up strighter and a
>dreamy expression comes over him.
> This is one of Salinger's transcendant moments. Franklin glimpses that
>his
>mind is constantly touching on his suffering. While he is telling Ginnie
>about some of his life she tells him "Your finger'll start bleeding more if
>you hold it down that way" and he continues to talk holding nothing down.
> later he refuses to consider putting a band-aid on his wound which could
>be
>a refusal of any of the standard illusions people try on to avoid
>suffering.
>he offers Ginnie a half sandwich symbolizing incarnation and the communion
>wafer as well as the communion he and ginnie have just shared.
> She no longer wants money from Franklin's sister and makes plans to get
>together with her later.
> Out in the street she discovers the sandwich in her pocket and decides
>not
>to throw it away. We are told of the 3 days it took her to discard an
>easter
>chick layind dead in her waste basket. Again the waste basket is our
>culture
>and possibly what a culture did to a man two thousand years ago, I'm
>stretching here.
> the 3 days and the easter refrence remind us of resurrection and that
>Ginnie and franklin are not quite the same as they were before their
>"meetcha at the corner" experience.
>
> I may be wrong on a good part of this, but it was fun.
>
>
>Paul M
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