Re: From Daumier to Smith
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@hotpop.com)
Sun, 19 Sep 1999 14:51:32 +1000
Pasha wrote:
> I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but it may be relevant
that
> "Jean de Daumier-Smith" also has initials "JDS". Perhaps it's not young
> Jean that's being reflexive. I hope this doesn't make good old Salinger
> seem a bit...cheesy.
Not at all (and like I said before, brilliant observation). I think
Salinger has toyed more and more with our perceptions of biography as he
himself has gotten more notorious. In fact, it could almost be called a
major theme of his later work - Buddy Glass being the obvious example.
However, as far back as Catcher I think there was at least some
self-reflexivity at work - such small things has the fact that Salinger
went to the McBurney school that Holden's fencing team was playing against.
What Salinger is playing with is regardless of whether or not something's
autobiographical, people are naturally going to search for that angle to
it. It's happened an extraordinary amount in his career - who could think
of something crazier than the search one newspaper put on for the `Real
Sybil'. Totally bizarre. I wonder if Salinger's fascination and
exploitation with this also coincided with the slew of people trying to get
him to admit that he is in fact Holden Caulfield?
> (P.S. I love how the phrase "in itself self reflexive" is technically
> redundant three times and still makes perfect practical sense.)
(: Ah grammar. Will it never cease to baffle us!? I am so glad English is
my first language as I'd hate to try and learn the damn thing.
Camille
verona_beach@hotpop.com