Re: Salinger and the Beats
Valerie Thompson (american_night@hotmail.com)
Wed, 13 May 1998 00:21:20 -0700 (PDT)
>I think I had a Salinger connection again today with the beats. The
>professor in class today said that Kerouac had a brother that died at
an
>early age. I might be wrong because it was late in the class and my
>attention span is about as broad as a nat but I believe that is what he
>said. He also said that Kerouac always felt like he never lived up to
>the brother who for the time he was alive was much brighter and more
>intelligent than Jack. Maybe I got this all wrong but it is so much
like
>Holden. This plus regular boredom must have made him think he was crazy
>just like Holden.
>
>I just can't stop myself from making connections to Salinger.
>Suerte
>
>
Yes...Kerouac did have a brother who died as a child -- Gerard. Jack was
4 when he died...Gerard was 9. Jack later said he believed that Gerard
had been an actual saint(_Visions of Gerard_ was about his brother). He
always felt guilty for his brother's death because he thought Gerard
could have been so great had he lived and because shortly before Gerard
died, he slapped Jack. William Burroughs told Jack (all of this
according to _The Selected Letters of Jack Kerouac_) that he'd always
felt guilty about his brother's death because at four years old, Jack
had resented his brother slapping him and had wished him dead...he died
a few days later.
This is somewhat similar to Holden feeling bad because he hadn't let
Allie go with him to shoot the BB gun...and Holden DID think Allie was a
lot more intelligent than he was. Still...coincidence or connection? You
decide.
~Valerie~
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