Subject: (no subject)
Matthew_Stevenson@BAYLOR.EDU
Date: Tue Mar 04 1997 - 13:40:33 GMT
hey bananafish-
does anyone else think that x in "For Esme-with Love and Squalor" is
seymour? if not, might he be buddy? also, if it is seymour, then is esme a
precursor to the little girl in bananafish? a little subtle foreshadowing maybe
of what was to come?
think about it-seymour loves muriel's simplicity and naivete. he even says
he needs it (see rhtrc). but does this naivete contrast so sharply with his own
"worldliness" that it drives insane? might the little girl be the straw that
broke the camel's back? her absolute innocence may have caused seymour so much
painful introspection that he decided it was better to start over with another
life. (another point--might teddy actually be seymour in his new life?)
likewise,esme causes x to realize how unbalnced he is. her precocity prevents
her from evincing the absolute purity that would lead him to hate himself. her
little brother shows this quality of purity, but his reserve prevents x from
being to deeply wounded by it. that is until the boy returns to kiss him
goodbye.
am i just grasping at straws or what?
ms
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