Re: Re: Teddy
Brendan McKennedy (the.tourist@mailexcite.com)
Sun, 04 Jan 1998 22:33:38 -0700
>The other thing is the idea that if Buddy was the author of "Teddy",
>he also authored all of "Nine Stories" which would explain the numerous
>Glass family references. If that's the case, at what point does Buddy's
>voice and Salinger's begin and end? Are they one and the same?
>I haven't decided.
>
>Peggy
That's something that has bugged me for a long
time. I tend to think that using Buddy as an
alter-ego was a way of distancing himself from his
published writing, and maybe from his readers--
particularly in light of his remarks on the sleeve
of...oh God, what book was it? Some hardcover copy
of one of his books, where he said something along
the lines that anonymity is the writers greatest
asset.
On the other hand, I could just as easily think that
Salinger was trying to mix his real life into his
fiction, to blur the lines for himself. If he
actually believed he was Buddy--at least while he
was writing--it might have lent him a sense of
knowledge or extra confidence.
It's doesn't change the prose terribly, wondering
"who" wrote it, but it confuses in an extranneous
way...
Of course, when was Salinger ever interested in
reinforcing our simple minds?
Brendan
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