Subject: RE: Muriel's uncle
From: Baader, Cecilia (cbaader@casecorp.com)
Date: Wed Jan 26 2000 - 13:36:55 EST
I've been meaning to reply to this post for days, as something occurred to
me recently regarding Muriel's uncle, the deaf-mute. (And Holden's desire
to pretend that he is a deaf-mute, have a deaf-mute wife, etc.)
Recently, I read _The Heart is a Lonely Hunter_ by Carson McCullers, a book
which revolves around a deaf-mute and his relationships with the people in
the town. Published in 1940, McCullers's book would have been at the height
of its success when our friend J.D. was mastering his craft.
Interestingly enough, McCullers was discovered by _Story_ magazine, also an
early publisher of Salinger's stories.
There's certainly no proof of a connection to McCullers' idea of the
deaf-mute as the central, calming influence upon a sea of disturbed people,
and Salinger's belief that the deaf-mute was the only sane, realtively happy
individual around, but I thought that the coincidence was certainly worth
noting.
Regards,
Cecilia.
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