Re: waiting for the Miracle
Brendan McKennedy (suburbantourist@hotmail.com)
Thu, 26 Mar 1998 19:56:02 -0800 (PST)
When Teddy complains about how difficult it is to live a spiritual life
>in America (as opposed to India), when Seymour kills himself because,
well, he
>was just too happy (perhaps), I can't help feeling that well, both
these
>characters are full of it, just really complaining that, "Golly, it is
just so
>**hard,** much easier to go ahead and kill oneself."
I hate to disagree with you after you were so kind to me...but I will
anyway. I think you're right about Teddy...he was a sort of whiner, or
at least terribly egocentric, but I don't think Seymour was complaining,
even in killing himself. If you look at Seymour's journals in "Raise
High", he refuses to complain even about Mrs. Fedder, someone who Gandhi
probably would have slapped. I don't think Seymour got any satisfaction
from his suicide, I think he saw it as sort of a duty, even along the
lines of Christ in Gesthemane, where he asked God, "Isn't there any
other way to do this?" I think Seymour was a tragedy, and he was
definitely admirable for all aspects of that tragedy, from his sense of
spiritual journey to his all-encompassing affection for every aspect of
earthly experience. I only get annoyed with Seymour through Buddy.
It's a lot easier to think someone is great if you don't have to listen
to his brother telling you how great he is with every breath.
Brendan
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