Salinger again

Lomanno (lomanno@ix.netcom.com)
Wed, 11 Nov 1998 09:12:15 -0500

pasha wrote:

> I would question the notion of "learning" any text in terms of knowing
> everything there is to know about it; I personally believe such a thing
> to be impossible.  

As soon as I wrote the word "learning" I regretted it. Why can't I seem
to get the words right lately (I've only just recently subscribed to the
WordADay list)?

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to talk about Salinger on a more academic
level. I know that sounds very snooty of me, but there's just so much
more to his writing than Holden's "cool" teenage issues. And, I swear,
whenever I try to talk about Salinger with anyone but this list and my
husband, they just kind of roll their eyes like I should still be in
high school. Why can't people see what I see in his writing?

> I would not go so
> far as to attempt a study of Salinger's intentions, and I dare say he
> would deny the humanity of anyone who does.

I am completely against delving into Salinger's intentions. I have the
utmost respect for his privacy; any discussions I have about him will
relate solely to the texts in question. I just kind of wanted to look at
maybe Franny & Zooey from a poststructuralist or reader-response
perspective.

--Kari