Subject: "Teddy" and Salinger's lit cred
From: Jon Tveite (jontv@ksu.edu)
Date: Mon Feb 10 1997 - 17:50:01 GMT
Josh Feldmeth <sportcarrier@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hi Schulman, I read Teddy for the first time yesterday and I have to
> agree that I liked it quite a bit. Its not my favorite JDS short story
> but I wont begrudge you that.
It's not my favorite either, but it blew my 19-yr-old mind when I first
read it. Quite a blast of Eastern mysticism for someone who was raised by
professional Christians (my dad's a Lutheran pastor). I still have a hard
time drinking milk without thinking about "pouring God into God."
Reading "Teddy" now, I'm not quite as impressed with it, as a story. It's
more of an essay actually -- Salinger at his most didactic. I agree with
Josh, though, that it's very funny; the character of Teddy is sharp and
engaging (could Seymour be the midpoint between Teddy and Holden? I dunno
-- probably a dumb idea). I think "Teddy" functions better as an intro to
Eastern thought than a literary short story, however.
The Salinger of NINE STORIES, however, is quite a wizard with the short
form, however. The ones that still knock my little grad-student socks off
are "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut," "DeDaumier-Smith's Blue Period," and
"A Perfect Day for Bananafish." I think you could argue that Salinger
hasn't gotten nearly enough credit for creating new kinds of short fiction
(critics tend to overlook authors who are popular). "A Perfect Day for
Bananafish," for instance, is very daring in its refusal to offer easy
explanations for Seymour's suicide.
Jon
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