Re: AW: Clinamen beginagain - why did Seymour kill himself?
Susan Pearson (susanp@ou.edu)
Fri, 16 Jan 1998 15:01:30 -0600
Lorentzen / Nicklaus wrote:
>
> Brendan wrote:
> An interesting thing to consider is that everything we know
> about Seymour, we really know through Buddy. This is where
> things get wierd (just here?), because I don't really think
> that Salinger wanted Buddy to be an omniscient narrator, even
> if Buddy himself thought he was. I think Salinger wanted to
> give us the story of the Glasses through a very slanted window,
> so we would love them before we began to think about them--which,
> if that is the case, Salinger achieved. But then when the time
> comes to think about them, things become very complicated, since
> just because Buddy tells his stories with complete love, he doesn't
> necessarily tell them with complete honesty--which he himself
> stresses in Seymour: An Introduction.
>
>
I think this idea about Seymour being filtered through Buddy is
interesting and shows sensitivity towards the texts. And it clears up
some questions about some of Seymour's actions (the bare feet tirade in
the elevator etc.) After all, JDS is writing about Buddy writing about
Seymour (even though that is not evident in this story alone.) As for
the killing Murial idea, does that seem very un-Seymour and even
un-Buddy to anyone else? Sure, he threw a rock at Charlotte, but
shooting is different. I just don't buy it.
Susan