Re: refreshing opp., hop, skip, jump!
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@geocities.com)
Sun, 13 Jun 1999 15:53:58 +1000
Jordie chambers wrote:
> Mathematicians vs. artists? THe easiest way to sum up the
> obvious defferences is by using left/right. Recently,
> researchers have dug up interesting findings on southpaws
> and their differences from righties. I don't know them, I
> hope someone here does, but I'm sure they're interesting.
I have often noticed how many artistic people are left handed - especially
at book signings, an enormous amount of famous writers I have met have been
south-paw, and many musicians too. (I also heard a report on a science show
that, if you ever notice, you'll find that when you are working hard on
something mathematical your right hand gets warm and something artistic
your left hand gets warm. I tried this out and it's true! My mouse hand
always gets cold while I'm composing emails).
I wonder if this left/right polarity has something to do with the polarity
we were talking about earlier that Salinger seems to set up between wisdom
and intellect? I guess also it would be between rationalism and
non-rationalism (and Zen) which is another major Salinger
theme. The more I think about Catcher, the more I realise Holden seems to
put the people he meets through a test which sets them firmly on one or
other side: phony or non phony. What would he do without the other side to
weigh himself against? It reminds me of some of the studies of mimesis I
did at University; concepts like `the Nazi secretly wishes he was the Jew'
or `secretly becomes the Jew'. Which I guess is the same as:
> to reject what is irrelevant or threatening to our belief system and to
> comfort ourselves by our own belief systems in the
> rejection of others.
Since thinking about the idea of James Castle as the doppelganger of Holden
but the one who died nobly for a cause rather than living humbly for one, I
wonder if the major polarity Holden is deciding between is the one of that
`sad screwed up type guy': to be or not to be? After all, even he admits he
might have jumped out the window but for fear of rubbernecks (which seems
reminiscent of what he later tells us about James Castle's suicide).
Sometimes I wonder if Seymour is just the Holden that chose the other
option. Perhaps that's what annoys me about Seymour's decision: it is in
direct opposition to Mr Antolini's wonderful piece of advice (does anyone
know anything else about the man who originally said that quote, by the
way?)
Mea gracias kangaroois ??? Not pig latin but pig Australian (:
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
@ THE ARTS HOLE http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442
@ THE INVERTED FOREST http://www.angelfire.com/pa/invertedforest