Soft Boiled

All right, here's my first take on the good Sgt:

First it struck me the great number of times in his writing that Salinger
mentions movies. As I recall, he often, as here, blames a female for loving
the movies. Obviously, in real life he has this love/hate thing for movies,
being, at the time (ie 40's & 50's) glossy boy-meets-girl themes with happy
endings. He, as does Philly here, seems to love the cinema, but ultimately
feels unfulfilled. Once, because of the handsome Gary Cooper-type movies
and themes, and again by Charlie Chaplain because of the
boy-doesn't-get-girl theme that hurts Burke with its truth.
Remember, this was from 1944, still deeply in the trenches, so to speak, of
the world's bloodiest war. Burke is a patriot, a hero, but he's also a big
brother/mentor. Very comforting to the folks back home, sending their kids
over. There will be a Sgt Burke to look after him.
We also get a home fires burning theme with the reoccurring praise of
Juanita. Don't marry an ordinary girl...one who won't break out in goose
bumps... one that won't cry for a Burke... etc.
The thing that disappoints me about this story is that although I like all 3
characters, and in fact like the story, it goes for sentimentality instead
of the sucker punch. This is probably because it was written for its time,
not for all time.
The thing is, though, What I love most about Salinger is that there is,
usually, a point in his stories where you go "OH...." and feel a tingle at
the back of your neck. That unexpected "oh, THAT'S what's going on" which
is lacking here. Burke's death was way too expected.
Oh, and since Philly is a career Army man, why is he in Texas instead of the
European or Asian theatre?
I'm sure there's more to come, that's just off the top of my head. Can't
wait to hear back.
tina

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Received on Tue Jun 3 16:32:00 2003