Subject: Re: Catcher part II?!
From: Jim Rovira (jrovira@drew.edu)
Date: Wed Jan 02 2002 - 10:23:37 GMT
That's an interesting site you have there, Bernd -- reading the references
to Catcher in song lyrics was fun :). I agree with most of your
respondents that I don't think Salinger has, or should have, a part II to
Catcher in the Rye. I don't know that Salinger is capable of writing it.
Many of his characters have the same problem -- facing the hypocrisy of the
world they want to run away from it, being sincere, sensitive folk
themselves. Salinger is pretty good at depicting the problem, even up to
the point where his characters reach some kind of resolution, but he's not
too hot at depicting a mature character who has grown very far beyond this
crisis. Teddy seems to be one -- but he's a child and he dies. The child
Seymour may be another -- I'm not sure. I can't think of a single adult
character that's living actively in this world in Salinger's fiction that
has moved beyond the crisis, though.
I can't imagine what kind of an adult life Holden would have, at any rate,
but I doubt it would look much different from many of the lives he sought
to escape from. The sequel would probably either be a betrayal of the
first novel's premise, or a representation of the failure of Holden,
probably ending in his suicide (like Seymour). Either way, it would be a
disappointment, I think.
Jim
Bernd Wahlbrinck wrote:
>
> Merry Christmas fish!
> I know it is highly unlikely that JDS has got The Catcher Part II in
> one of his drawers as a Christmas present for us, so I thought the
> second best thing might be to have a poll about the question whether
> this would be a neat idea in the first place.
> Therefore, why don't you see for yourselves, vote, and comment on
> this vision?
> the poll is at the following url:
> http://mitglied.tripod.de/BerndWahlbrinck/int.htm
> #26
> Bernie
>
> -
> * Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
> * UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Wed Mar 20 2002 - 09:27:53 GMT