Subject: Eric 'n' Seymour
From: Steve Gallagher (sgallagher@lasersedge.net)
Date: Tue Mar 04 1997 - 03:25:31 GMT
I sent this last night but it didn't make it. Probably fate, but I'm trying
again anyway.
Attention: Paul Gauthier
THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK
At 12:37 AM 1/28/97 -0800, Paul wrote:
> My suggestion is that Eric refuses to conform to
>society's standards because he is not confused or embarrased about his
>sexuality; he seems to be an openly gay man to me.
I just have to say, Paul, I think you've got your head stuck in the toilet
on this one.
An interesting exercise would be an attempt to describe any one of JDS's
secondary characters, *really*--in your own words, what they look like, who
they are, based only on the superficial details provided by the author. I
think you'll find that any physical and psychological descriptions you
muster up will be complete fabrications based entirely on your imagination.
You have no choice. This may apply to central characters as well, save
Teddy, for which Buddy apologizes.
>From Robertson Davies' novel Fifth Business (essential reading). After
recalling a good flogging he'd received form his mother in his youth,
Dunstan Ramsay the narator says "What I knew then was that nobody--not even
my mother--was to be trusted in a strange world that shows so little of
itself on the surface." I love that.
Salingerian translation: go ahead and see what you want to see.
Does Franklin *really* have a bad heart? Does Eric need a tidy excuse for
not serving? Would that make any difference? Perhaps it's just a widget?
And it's so easy to get lost amid the surface details. (Lucky for Marlow.)
I see the meat of this story (my take, anyway) lurking slyly beneath the
surface. I would be interested to know if you read any kind of character
epiphany into Eskimos...or not? If so, where does it take place, if not
between your own ears (Bananafish)?
>[Nicholson] of course, does not carry
>any of the "stereotypes" (or cultural codes) of a gay man. In fact, his
>body language suggests he wants to be perceived as straight as he crosses
>his legs, but only at the ankles. Moreover, he doesn't choose to speak
>through his pharynx or about women's fashion.
Too bad. I bet Teddy'd have insights today's baggy-assed youth would adore.
About the legs: he's *just* stretched out on a deck chair. Tough to cross
'em at the knees. Something you overlooked: prior to doing so he did spend
a good ten minutes steadily watching a young boy from a distance;) The
world is flat.
>Seymour is, I believe, the only other person
>who engages in conversation (I'm not talking about narration here) about
>female fashion. His attempt isn't as successful as Eric's though. He
>says something like, "That's a nice blue swimsuit" when the swimsuit is,
>in fact, yellow. A confused attempt that may come somewhere in line with
>the twin beds found in his hotel room (though I read that more as a sign
>of a now loveless marriage (it's not the room they had the first time
>they were there).
What do you *really* think Seymour is doing when he comments on the colour
of Sybil's bathing suit? Confusion? I'm currious, how did you read "'Whirly
Wood, Connecticut,' said the young man. 'Is that anywhere near Whirly Wood,
Connecticut, by any chance?'"
I think it's fair to say Seymour's helped me make better friends of the
young people I meet.
Steve.
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