Subject: Re: A Problem....
From: Sasha Stone (sstone@primenet.com)
Date: Thu Feb 27 1997 - 23:15:45 GMT
On Thu, 27 Feb 1997, Kerry O'Keeffe wrote:
>
> I imagine we all share a love of Salinger's work, but if I had to make one
> criticism about it, it would be the lack of 'real' problems faced by his
> protagonists. They all seem to live in this financially secure bubble
> which enables them to sit around contemplating the bigger picture. I
> would love to spend my days reciting prayers ('Franny') and seeking
> Enlightenment, but unfortunately there are bills to pay and a system
> constantly threatening to take away the little that you have. I
> understand that Salinger himself came from a wealthy background and wrote
> in a different era to this, its just for him to be the complete writer to
> ME he would need to be a little less, dare I say, self-indulgent. As it
> is, he comes closer to my idea of a comoplete writer than any save Orwell
> and Vonnegut. I hope I havent pissed anyone off, its just an opinion and
> I would love to know what yours is on the matter (if youve bothered to
> actually read all this :-) )
Yeah, you know that's funny because when you are in a miserable place, ie
terribly depressed and hopeless don't people always say that to you? That
they would love to have the luxury to be able to sit around and worry
about their problems. Sensitivity to the world around you is a hard thing
to dull. If it hurts you, if it is unbearable to you and you feel that
inside how can you dull it? See, if you become a parent or if the world
seems pretty okay to you then it would never become something you couldn't
deal with. Some people just go on. Death doesn't bother them, the
futility of it all doesn't bother them, the constant threat of an accident
doesn't bother them. But you know, and I think Salinger captured this, we
seem to be living in direct contradition with our nature. That is (and
pleas forgive me for droning on and on but I liked what you wrote so what
the hell) we are living in a dangerous age. We drive around cars that
could kill us at any time. We fly around in airplanes that could kill us
any minute (even if the odds are against it). We live in a society
controlled by consumerism - we are being sold something every second of
every day. It's bound to get to you, rich or poor. I mean, of course, if
it gets to you.
See to me Salinger has always been sort of like the guys who see the
aburdity of it all and would be able to laugh at it if it weren't so
utterly grotesque. You know the T.S. Eliot poem The Wasteland? And how
it's all about modern man's inability to cope with this post WW1 society?
That's Salinger to me.
Okay but anyway - I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground so let me
just say that I know what you mean - in Franny and Zooey is crossed my
mind occasionally but I so loved the characters it didn't matter.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> One of these days I'm gonna get organiz
> iz
> e
> d
> -Travis Bickle
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is that like those signs you have in offices that say 'thimk'?"
Sasha
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