Re: a theory of "Bfish"
Tim O'Connor (tim@roughdraft.org)
Wed, 28 Jan 1998 19:56:23 -0600
> Monday afternoon, I passed out twenty-two copies of "Bananafish" to my
> freshman english class in which the last six words had been whited-out.
> The modified story ended thus: "Then he went over and sat down on the
> unoccupied twin bed, looked at the girl, aimed the pistol, and fired..."
> (I added the elipses). I told my students that they should read the piece
> from beginning to end, preferably in one sitting.
Matt -- a wonderful approach to the deep ambiguity of the story, and a
great hook to get students interested.
I wonder: had any of the students previously read the story? Were any of
them motivated to go get a copy of it to see what the real ending was?
> I'm still working through the
> particulars (not to mention the ethics), but I wanted to post this right
> away. He shoots the girl.
What's the ethical issue? (I'm intrigued.)
--tim