Re: Quiet list? there's always
J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Wed, 01 Jul 1998 16:22:48 -0400 (EDT)
But that's just my opinion, and I
> would be even amazed if anyone were to agree.
>
> -Olga-
<<I didn't realize that Salinger had psychological problems, but that
would explain a lot. After all, both Franny Glass and Holden have
breakdowns. I've also always believed that Salinger was expressing
himself through Holden.>>
AHHH! Quit reasoning back to the author like this! It drives me Nuts :)
Salinger expressed himself through the ENTIRE TEXT of the Catcher in the
Rye--Holden as well as Antolini. When we see Holen's shortcomings and
failures in thought, we are seeing what Salinger (probably) wanted us to
see--at the least (but perhaps it'd be better to say, "at the most") I'd
say we are seeing what Salinger saw himself when he wrote the text.
CS Lewis has an essay in....eh... _Present Concerns_ (I think) in which
he describes reading reveiws of his work. He says that Every Single Time
a reviewer speculated from his life to the origin or meaning of his text,
he was wrong. Not most of the time. Every time.
SO WHAT if Salinger had been hospitalized at one time for some sort of
psychological disturbance. Even if it were true, this tells us NOTHING
about the meaning of Catcher. Stick to the text. Forget about the
author.
He seems to prefer it that way himself, actually.
Jim
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