Teddy's Demise (fourth try)

Ashley Byock (oeuf@ix.netcom.com)
Fri, 16 Jan 1998 10:15:34 -0800 

Having just pored over three hundred and some odd messages which had the =
sad fate of being left behind on the web server during my vacation, I =
feel winded and a little concerned. =20

Not about who's gay, who's a music major.  What I'm fascinated with is =
Teddy.  I think only a few points really came close to my own feeling =
about "what really happened".  I think it's really important for us, as =
readers, to investigate the details, see what we can figure out.  At the =
same time, though, if Salinger didn't tell us explicitly, maybe he's =
trying to tell us something other than how Teddy died.  I think he's =
showing us something about how we read.  No, really.  The story itself =
leads us to his death, speech, the tone of the language (as I remember =
it), his reference to the particularity of that day;  the story =
indicates that something is going to happen.  So we look around for =
clues, the story gives us Teddy's death as a possibility, his sister =
might push him, etc?  I feel like the story is playing with the idea of =
fate.  Was Teddy's(/the story's) innuendo of his death at the hands of =
his sister/the empty pool/his own hand his own prediction of his own =
death?  A literary technique of fate/prediction?  Maybe, if we read this =
from a quirky angle, we could say that the story itself pushed him in.  =
What does that mean?  (MEAN?)  Well, maybe it means that Teddy is not a =
character separate from the story, neither of which is separate from the =
telling of the story-the tone.  These characters are not full and =
well-rounded, though Salinger does spend extraordinary effort as a =
writer to specify the relationships between his characters.  No, I say =
that all of the characters and events in the story, like any story =
(think of Shakespeare's tragedies and that kind of fate/story/character =
downfall) are only defined in terms of each other.  The characters =
depend on each other and the language and the events which develop them =
within the text to exist-they are not independent entities with =
independent psychologies. =20

So, for Teddy, this means that the story could push him in, the =
prediction could be heavy enough.  Maybe.  At least I think it's worth =
looking at.  Salinger didn't tell us the "truth", exactly.  As a reader, =
that makes me look at the story as all about the predicament, the =
situation itself, of being perched on the edge of the pool, a gifted but =
maybe very empty-feeling boy, maybe really powerful-wondering if he's so =
powerful he could will his sister to push him in and have it happen (and =
if this did happen, was it fate or did he will it.  Just a lonely spot =
at the end of the board above the circling sharks wondering if he can =
get away from how much bigger he is than everything else (because he has =
power over things, they can't hold him safe) (I think this is why the =
story is on a boat) but forcing fate to intercede.

Just an idea.  I love thinking about form and content in literature, I =
think that's half the battle of reading and writing.

oeuf