Subject: Re: This mailing list has no mayonaise
From: Will Hochman (hochman@southernct.edu)
Date: Mon Sep 03 2001 - 00:45:46 GMT
Aw Matthew, that's a great story to bring up! Where else are you
gonna find lines about Holden from another narrator. Thanks to
Vincent Caulfield, this story really makes seeing Holden an adventure
since Vincent often sounds like Holden and since Holden seems to have
more together for himself.
Of course I couldn't help but hear a keen line about letters shout to
me as I heeded Matthew's rereading prompt. "I don't care about the
raincoat being swiped, but how about leaving my letters alone?" And
then here's a killer of a descriptive line about Holden who "can't do
anything but listen hectically to the maladjusted little apparatus he
wears for a heart."
In this story, we have Vincent Caulfield narrating and worrying about
Holden who fought in Europe and then shipped out to the Pacific.
Vincent is angry at the government saying Holen is missing in action
and says"I never heard such crazy, liar's news." He rants about how
the government is lying. Holden, in this story, went to "Pentey Prep"
(It's still a place where "You send us the Boy, We'll mold the
Man")but he seems to be more certain of who he is as a kid...in a
flashback, Vincent is remembers Holden at the World's Fair and quotes
Holden (with Italics) saying to Vincent and Phoebe: "Let's get out of
this educational junk. Let's go on one of the rides or something. I
can't stand this stuff..."
In this wonderful Esquire story, Vincent is simulaneously trying to
resolve a problem of who goes to "Miz Jackson's" for a social among
his men while the real problem is dealing with the news that Holden
is missing in action...the last two paragraphs dive right into
Vincent's head where he's thinking "Where are you Holden? Never mind
this Missing stuff. Stop playing around."
For me, "This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise" but it does have a great
pre-catcher take on Holden with Vincent sounding like Holden about
Holden! Salinger shows how adept he is with dialog in the story while
beneath it his character's cauldron cooks up a pretty poignant brew
of missing your brother in action. There's even an image/linkage of
death that foreshadows Seymour wearing a robe on the beach in
"APDFB." Perhaps better than many of the uncollected Salinger
stories, this one really shows Salinger experimenting with elements
of the Caulfield families and Glass families. Thanks Matthew, I had
forgotten how rich a snack this story is. For anyone wanting to
explore some fertile Salinger roots, dig it, will
-- Will HochmanAssistant Professor of English Southern Connecticut State University 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515 203 392 5024
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