Subject: RE: no more balls
From: Micaela (mbombard@middlebury.edu)
Date: Fri May 03 2002 - 14:13:49 EDT
I really like the idea of seeing the series as a cycle, but then I have to
wonder who the bananafish are supposed to represent...the unenlightened?
the "masses of men"? I also think the suggestion of Teddy being the
reincarnation of Seymour is very fascinating, although I'm not sure there's
a lot of evidence for it. I guess the one thing regarding this "is Seymour
enlightened" question is the poem that he leaves behind. How would you
(addressed to whomever reads this) interpret his poem if you follow that he
is enlightened. Also, if he is not enlightened, how would you interpret it?
Does his enlightenment or lack thereof have anything to do with how we
should read the poem (I think it does)?
Also, to a comment made earlier about "Teddy" have a "twist" in the end: I
completely disagree. I think Booper screams at the end because she has
pushed Teddy into the water. My reasons for believing this are as follows:
1. There is no reason for a twist. If Teddy is truly enlightened (as no
one has yet disagreed with this statement), then he would indeed be the
ultimate "seer" or prophet. Being prophetic, he would have been able to
predict his own death as he described earlier and we would have no reason to
doubt him. 2. If Booper was the one being pushed into the empty pool,
would her scream be described as "sustained"? These seems like a carefully
chosen adjective that serves the purpose of depicting the scream as a
reaction to what she has done/seen. 3. If Teddy is enlightened and Booper
has not been through many lives yet, what motive/reason why would he be the
one to push her into the pool?
Another issue: Ramona being, or not being, Walt's daughter. I believe that
Eloise resents her daughter because her daughter is that much closer to
Walt. Notice that she wears glasses (symbolic of her ability as "seer") and
that she has the imagination that Seymour would envy. She is closer to the
state of enlightenment almost simply by default, as Salinger views most of
the children in his stories due to their more innocent nature and
imaginative capabilities. Eloise envies her daughter's capabilities;
remember how she clutches Ramona's glasses and tries to make her crush her
invisible friend who is lying on the bed? I believe that she views in
Ramona what she viewed in Walt and it makes her nostalgic, sad, envious,
etc.
One last comment: I don't think there is any way that the character in
"Bananafish" is Buddy Glass. I actually don't even see how someone could
suggest it (did someone actually suggest it...or was I misinterpreting?).
Muriel and her mother both refer to her husband as Seymour, and we know from
"Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters" that Muriel and Seymour are husband
and wife. Sybil refers to him as See More Glass, and he kills himself at
the end (all pointing to the fact that he is Seymour).
I've already said too much.
-Micaela
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-bananafish@roughdraft.org
[mailto:owner-bananafish@roughdraft.org]On Behalf Of
jason@smartwentcrazy.com
Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 5:57 AM
To: bananafish@roughdraft.org
Subject: Re: An ocean full of bocce balls
I tend to agree with the theory of Nine Stories representing the various
stages of enlightenment. And with Seymour at the beginning and ending with
Teddy, as enlightened as it most assuredly gets, we need not necessarily
assume that Seymour is not close to enlightenment since Teddy is. We should,
perhaps, consider that we are looking at a cyclic series of stories with
both Seymour and Teddy representing the same point in the circle.
Or not.
Solid handshakes,
Jason
----- Original Message -----
From: ErsatzAzalea@aol.com
To: bananafish@roughdraft.org
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: An ocean full of bocce balls
In a message dated 5/2/2002 2:45:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mbombard@middlebury.edu writes:
I think that the main characters of each story,
beginning with Seymour and ending with Teddy, are at various stages of
enlightenment, Teddy having reached enlightenment, and at the end of
the
story escaping the birth/death/re-birth cycle
I disagree, if you are implying that Seymour is not close to
enlightenment. In "Raise High The Roofbeam, Carpenters," he is made out to
be one of the most enlightened characters in Salinger's published stories...
aside from Teddy. But then again, Buddy Glass said that he wrote the story
for Seymour, but when the rest of the Glass's read it they said that the
character in Bananafish wasn't Seymour but Buddy himself, who seems to be at
a lower level as far as spiritual development goes. So maybe you're right.
Feedback?
~Melanie
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