Re: Not our O'Connor, the other one & a dearth of Christianity
Tim O'Connor (tim@roughdraft.org)
Tue, 08 Jul 1997 19:28:14 -0500
>It is somewhat of a surprise that her name is not
>mentioned on this list more because she does rival JDS' short story
>acumen. But on second thought maybe its not very suprising because her
>subjects are typically Christian in orientation and from experience,
>that's not a subject that churns the bananafish butter.
I have always regretted that Flannery O. and I didn't overlap in any
meaningful way on this earth. I suspect that I would have enjoyed a
traditional (written) correspondance with her. It would have been
intriguing to see her take on the modern (U.S.) south. Her short stories
are so brilliant, they leave an ache behind when I read them. And they are
funny. As one who was raised a Catholic, I believe "Parker's Back" has one
of the most hilarious climaxes I have ever read. (I spent many a day under
the baleful eye of one or another holy statue not to think so.) And, as
someone said earlier, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is brutally, but
logically, a rip-roaring tale. The humor is so dark and unrelenting, I
can't resist it!
>JDS: What about religion? I can't remember many JDS characters
>(Glass, Caulfied et al) refering to denominational or traditional
>American religions with anything but the most passing of interests.
>Any thoughts?
It always seemed to me that Salinger went out of his way to be secular in
the beginning of his writing life, and then, as he matured and moved in the
direction of his own beliefs, to embrace what was at that time in the U.S.
an exotic path.
With time he became more vocal about it; consider the vast stretch between
the approach to Zen in "Teddy" compared to the emphasis on Zen in
"Seymour." But I don't recall reading anything overt about the religious
exposure to which he may have been exposed during childhood. (Or have I
overlooked something?)
At any rate, I'm amused by the vast difference between his non-approach to
Judaism and, say, Philip Roth's straightforward angle in "The Conversion of
the Jews," for which Roth was utterly vilified in Jewish circles. (I
hasten to add that Roth is also a great favorite of mine.)
Ah, religion. All we need to make the day complete is to launch a
discussion of politics next!
--tim o'connor