RE: Hapworth
Sean Draine (seandr@Exchange.Microsoft.com)
Tue, 18 May 1999 18:09:20 -0700
I have a theory about Salinger's super-kids. As Salinger's career
progresses, his writing becomes increasingly fixated on characterizing his
ideal human being, his god. Fantastically high intelligence, intelligence
that far exceeds even his own, is obviously, among other things, an
important component of this ideal. But how can an author possibly create a
character whose thoughts, writings, and speech are intellectually superior
to his own? He can certainly grant his characters a flawless memory, and he
can fill them with as many facts as he cares to look up, but when it comes
to things like creativity and insight, his character's limitation are his
own.
Although some might consider this a cheap trick, the author could side-step
this problem by attributing his most sophisticated musings to a very young
child. A child so endowed would be a super-super-genius (considering his
age, of course). And just imagine how preposterously smart the little tike
would be once his brain was fully developed! Smart enough, perhaps, to
satisfy even Salinger's god-lust. (That is, if the rascal doesn't go
shooting himself or plummeting headlong to the bottom of an empty pool.)
-Sean