RE: Soft Boiled

That's very clever, Daniel. Even though Philly may never be a Burke, he
strives for it, showing is own nobility by what he prizes in others. I
would not go nearly that far though in saying that Juanita is Burke's girl,
even if Burke were a handsome chap, because whereas Philly cherishes
nobility, Juanity only prizes the ideal of nobility, prefering the glid over
the substance, the story over the circumstance, which is why she loves
movies. No, I think here we have Salinger saying that Juanita is as noble
as a woman can be, which is less than a man. I do believe him to be
somewhat of a chauvanist. Not that I blame him, he's a product of the 30's
& 40's not 70's - 90's. Philly told her the story and now, in her mind,
he's one of the characters in the movies that she treasures so much, which
elevates Philly's status in her mind.
Right now, though, I'm going to delve into the 9 stories & check out your
comparison.
tina

>Why did he begin so many sentences with her name? Burke, the ever first
>Sergeant. The first Sergeant in an outfit is responsible for every single
>enlisted man, he is a military 'Seymour', a Shepard of men so to speak.
>Juanita was Burke's girl and Philly new it, of course Juanita might not
>have
>gone for the real Burke since he was that ugly shot up hero with the
>squawked voice but Philly knew once he told her about Burke, she was
>Burke's
>and those movies didn't help since they were his (Burke's) story with phony
>actors like Philly. It is sort of like the Uncle story in Nine Stories,
>the
>specter from the grave is more real than you. Poor, poor Philly, our
>pathetic undeserving face stuffing (Pig) Philly, is replaced by another
>hero in his own narration. Is there no justice in the world? Well, Philly
>regrets,...telling the story? I guess someone does since it remains
>uncollected.
>
>Daniel
>
>
>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 10 21:19:33 2003