Re: Sat AM Cartoons

Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@geocities.com)
Sun, 07 Mar 1999 23:04:39 +1100 

Jim wrote:
> I see where you're coming from RE non-linear narrative.  What Holden does
> is talk in loops. 

Also the book is very episodic, which tends to be typical of these texts
which are usually divided into lessons and/or discussions with different
teachers. Which is in a way a linear structure but not your traditional
`cause and effect' one. I'm very interested that you say that this `loop'
effect is characteristic of Eastern speech/thought, which is something I
never knew!

> I've only reread the first two chapters or so and BOY I wonder how Warren
> French could so easily dismiss the idea that Holden was in a Cal.
> sanitarium.  

Yes... but ... well, this interpretation always annoys me because it's so
damn reductionist and literal. It's sort of like when I tell some anecdote
and come to what is clearly the end of the anecdote and the listener says
`Then what happened?' I feel like `Does anything need to have happened
next' ? It just doesn't bother me so much in the grand scheme of the story.
I tend to think that maybe Salinger is throwing us another curve-ball
similar to the one I suggested with Mr Antolini (and also possibly with
`Franny', come to think of it) I'm beginning to notice a pattern wherein
there's an obvious answer bubbling just below the surface - to wit, Mr
Antolini is a pervert, Seymour is a pedophile, Franny is pregnant, Holden
is crazy. But there seems to be so much more to it than that; it seems too
facile to leave it at this level of obviousness. Surely JDS would never be
so obvious. I wonder if such features are put in there as I suggested the
Mr Antolini episode was - to sort of separate the phonies from the
non-phonies.

I think we were having a similar discussion to this on the topic of
Holden's madness awhile back, and everyone was delving into the textbooks
to see if Holden's belief that he was disappearing was an obvious hallmark
of a schitzophrenic or manic depressive or what have you, when someone (I'm
afraid I can't remember who) came out with the most beautiful answer which
completely shelved all the mumbo jumbo and gave an answer which was totally
symbolic and utterly perfect and just totally washed all the
intellectualism out the door - which, I'm assuming, given JDS's distrust of
the ol' section man, is just what he intended.

Here's a new one - inspired by listening to Sonic Youth's `Song for Karen'
[Carpenter] - `I feel like I'm getting smaller/Disappearing every day/But I
look through the window/and I'm bigger in every way' - was Holden anorexic?

Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
@ THE ARTS HOLE http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442
@ THE INVERTED FOREST http://www.angelfire.com/pa/invertedforest