laughing man

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The relation is a reverse one: they are two melodies, one is the other
played backwards. While the Chief's relationship is growing, the laughing=

man gets into trouble. At one point there seems to be hope for the laughi=
ng
man, and there is a setback between boy and girl. When the laughing man
dies, the Chief's relationship is completed (in whatever way). Something
like this. The story 'is about' the borderline between boyhood and manhoo=
d,
which is also accented by the tone Salinger uses in this story: the
viewpoint of a small boy, told years later, when the boy is already a
grown-up. Not once are the two mixed; there is no remark like: "We all
accepted the fact that there is a border between Paris and China." (It ju=
st
occurs to me that this another border.)

Hope these tentative remarks are any help.

Paul Janse

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