Re: cubism
Diego Dell'Era (dellerad@sinectis.com.ar)
Sat, 07 Mar 1998 00:26:58 -0800
Hello everyone!
Scottie asked about Buddy's statement that all his instincts were for a
lower-middle-class resistance to Cubism in writing.
I think it has to do with a conflict inherent to Buddy's prose, the
choice between using his style and concealing it at the same time. He
uses some sort of cubism in the structure of the story, as a result of
which he reduces his audience to those who don't expect "crisp answers".
But he also feels that he mustn't use cubism, because it deters many
readers from trusting the writer as one truly involved with his subject
matter and not another enforcer of a literary fad. I see this device all
the time, for instance when he speaks about Seymour's skills at marbles:
he explains them by way of Zen, but he says he needn't bring Zen to do
it. But he does it splendidly.
It's part of the game that makes S:AI so engaging, Buddy feeling so sure
about Seymour's grandeur and so insecure about his own powers to fulfill
his expectations of a true description. But he _knows_ he is performing
great writing all the way. He wants to give away his Davega bicycle with
style, but not as an ostensively stylish gesture to a few. So he
addresses the big audience as his elite readers, which compels most of
us to discuss his works. And the inner circle tone isn't selfish because
he is urging the elite to love those "grounded everywhere".
By the way, I want to say that S:AI is my Salinger favorite!
Bye!
diego dell'era (dellerad@sinectis.com.ar)