Re: Seymour's death
Matthew_Stevenson@baylor.edu
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 22:36:04 -0600
jim, i think the real question here is: why did salinger end the story the way
he did rather than some other way? what is the significance of seymour
shooting himself rather than muriel (whom the virgin reader must admit as an
option up to the final sentence or two)? as always, your lover of
parenthetical remarks (and assorted other small pleasures in life), matt.
On Mon, 16 Nov 1998 20:47:59 -0500 (EST) jrovira@juno.com (J J R) wrote:
>I don't know about the question itself. Could the story have ended some
>other way? Of course. Seymour could have killed Muriel, gone on a
>killing spree, and wiped out those young children he played with too.
>
>But then it would be a different Seymour and a different story. It's
>like asking, Could Salinger have written a different story? Well, the
>answer is always, Yes. But he didn't.
>
>So I guess I don't understand the question here :)
>
>Jim