Children In J.D. Salinger: An Isolated World - CORE

.,. h, . . 9whose presence causes Eloise to lament her lost childThe bananafish in "Perfect Day For Bananafish"hood.·, .\,.is another exeJnple of a non-e:x:iste11t c-rea-tion.Thesemake-belie,.re f is 11, created by Seyi.nour, supp sedl;r eat .so many barianas that they expand and et cau ht in a·'death trap.Both Seymour and Sybil "see" a bananafish·.In several instances Phoebe Caulfield enters theillusiona.ry 1.-1orld of 1nake -believe, · al th ottgh her illusionsarf01,a different nature, and do not involve the in-\, ,visibleoRather, Phoebe has created for herself animaginary personality; she has made herself someone sheis not by inventing the middle name of Weatberfield, aname .v:rhicb may be related to I-Iolden' s field or r-Je.Perhaps tl1 is false personality is further underlined byher desire to act--to assume the personal characteristicsof another.In addition to these flirtations with un-reality, she believes that by an assertion of will shecan 1nake tbe ten1I)erature: of her fo1 ehead rise.1,rhenHolden puts his hand on her forehead but does not noticeany temperature change, lie nevertheless accepts Phoebe'sillusion because he does not want to shatter what herealizes is the childish world of make-believe, or in·.'!".'his words, he doesn't want to give her "a goddamn in8feriority complex." .(. Phoebe, then, lives in a make-believe world of false.t'names and adjustable senses which adults cannot experience.Q,',,.·'

.\-.,.·-·10I ., It is a key to the character of Holden that he is not so·far refiioved from childhood· to ack11ot-rl-ed8e and even toexperience for himself some make-believe.Frequently.he play acts by imagining that he is wounded.vlhen I 1·1as rd ally drunk, I started that stupidlbusiness with the bullet in my guts aga n.Iwas the only guy at the bar tv-ith a bullet in myguts.I kept putting my hand under my jacket,on my stomach and all, to keep the blood from·ti.dripping all over the place, I didn't want anyI was con-body tc, know I was even wounded.cealing the fact that I was a wounded sonuvabitch.9It should be noted that there is a great differencebetween the make-believe of Holden and Salinger childrenand the phony make-believe that is the guidon of adulthood.The unrealities of childhood are of no danger toanyone--they do not carry the ugly blol.J of a scrawledobscenity.Rath r, they are an expression of an inwardemotion enacted in natural innocence, not in hypocrisy.Michael Walzer points out the contrast that exists.·C "But today, Salinger seems to say, the only contrast tothe innocence and fervor of the child is the affectation, the cruel conventionality, the phoniness of theadult 1 rorld.10sham."The ,adult is not 'real 1 ; he ·11 ve·s amidstFinally, it can be said that childhood is a one.·llo. , ., - ' - j., . . '1·.;, C 'I -:. "" -· · ,- .C· ","· . '

, II,11,.' wa1 'Stre et down Which hard ened , inse nsit ive adul ts haveno incl inat ion to trav el.However, ther e ere somesens itive adul ts like Eloi se and Budd y and Zooe y Glas s,who. real ize the imp ossi bilit y of retu rnin g, not only tochild hood itse lf, but more impo rtan tly to the wo ld thatsurro unds 1 t.retu rn.How ever, they are, like Holden,. deni ed theOthe r adul ts like Boo-Boo and Seym our Glas sactu ally attem pt a retu rn to a child hood envi onm ent.But Boo- Boo is refu sed entr ance onto Lion el's boat , andSeym our sees tl1e lJa11 anafi sh tl1at prom pts his suic ide.Both attem pts are unsu cces sful .Adu lts may not ente r·the worl d of hil dren that 1 veil ed in inno cenc e andunco ntam inate d by the sick valu es of the worl d.This idea is unde rline d in -Pran nyr, andiooev when-.IBudd y Glas s meet s a four -yea r old r irl .t·Jhei1 aske d thename s of her boy- frien ds. she repl ies, "Bob by and Doro thy."r.Ir'I,,I.!II[II She does not real ize that Bobby and Doro thy are of diI'fere nt sexe s and cann ot both be boyf rien ds.To her thisdiffe renc e is unim port ant beca use she clas sifie s themboth as intim atel y clos e comp anio ns.Adu lts, of cour se,wouJ.d noti ce the diffe renc e in outtjl1 ard phys iolo gy, but11the ackn owle dged diffe renc es in life are real ly non-)II1exis tent in the cand id e11v ironn 1ent of a chil d.Thefail ure ta- assum e the ·unb iased outl ook of a chil d caus esthe pe1,1nanent adul t isola tion ., for adul ts have lost thei r-unta inte d sens e of valu e.They are unab le to sear ch for.,,.-.·t.;:.'

12I·/ :,the inward qualities that makes a seeker of horses.rItis spiritually that Salinger children are superior toadults.Seytnour-Sali·nger enters his tt! oughts on childrelJin a diary, and they echo th·e impl:i.cations in otherSalinger stories."A child is a guest in the house, tob' loved and respected--never possessed, since he belongsto God.!-ib1.1 l·1onder ftll, ho"d sane, how beautifully dif1ficult and therefore true."11,.(9.'"':·. ,; ;·,·-"\./.

'\ .,'··Ch ap ter Two.· The .Pe vel op me nt of Ch ild ren ··1:n Sa lin ge r s Ea rly St or -1ies The fe w. cr iti cs who hav e att em pte d to an aly ze Sa lin -.ger s ea rly sto 'ri ea see the m in di ffe re nt pe rsp ec tiv es.Gwynn and Blo tne 1 hav e cre ate d .fiv e ca tch -al l ca tegori es·int o wh ich the y be lie ve mo st of his ea rly sto rie s fa ll.They an aly ze br ief ly his ea rly wo rks in res pe ct to theseca teg or ies :the sh or t sh or t sto rie s, the lon ely gi rlch ara cte riz ati on s, the de str oy ed ar tis t me lod ram as, thema rri ag e in wa rti me gro up , and the Ca ulf iel d sto rie s Ha ssa n, Le vin e and Fre nc h see many or Sa lin ge r's ea rly· sto rie s as for eru nn ers of a sp ec ifi c the me or ide awh ichoc cu rs la te r in his ca re er .Le vin e, fo r exa m le, de ve lop s the the me of the mi sfi t he ro in Sa lin ge r andshowsho the he ro is for ce d to com pro mi se his in teg rit y witha pra gm ati c so cie ty.Fre nc h see s the dic ho tom ies of the-pho ny and nic e k rld s, wh ich be be lie ve s run thr ou gh outSa in ge r, as ha vin g th eir bi rth in tbe se ea rly sto ries.Ha ssa n be lie ve s many of Sa lin ge r's he roe s ex hib it arel igi , u sly sin gin g be ha vio r t 1h ich he de scr ibe sas "r are4qu ixo tic ge stu re, tr and be see s the ger m of thi s beba vie p.,. n the ea rly wo rks .··""·'.12In e ne ral , cr iti cs of the se ea rly wo rks ag ree th atthe se wo rks are , at be st, su pe rfi cia l.In 1957 Ila ssa nsa id, "Th e ma jor ity of the se pie ce s ma kes an un easy lo t,an d some are do wn rig ht em ba rra ssi ng ." 13 \ J illi am \veiga nd13I,.

-·----------1,- J-." ---------- ----------------. ,- --------""------ -.1.- -. -,.-,11111111111111111 14,,. ,.-qhas obs erve d, " in Sal ing er's ear ly wor k, even thebes t, ther e. was the tend enc y to take (the se) sho rt cut s,to slid e tl1:r· oup:h t, y 1neans ofa11easy sym bol or two , toset tle or one of the stan dard exp lana tion s, or app ear-ance s. of' exp lana tinn ." 14His earl y wor k, then , is und erst and ably on the ap-pre ntic e lev el.The se sto ries are sig niri can t, how ever ,bec ause they are the roo ts from whi ch grow some of theidea s and cha ract ers in the late r t1or ks.In 1q4 0 Sal ing er's firs t atte mpt , "Th e Young Fol ks,"app eare d in the I\1a rch- Apr il edi tion of S o ri.Thi s sho rtstor y con cern s a par ty of coll ege stud ents of whi chWil liam Jam eson Jr. is a cen tral cha rac ter.Alth oug hther e are obv ious diff eren ces betw een him and Hol denCau lfie ld, Wil liam Jam eson Jr. doe app ear to ·be s!m ila to Hol den in at lea st one resp ect- -a spu tter ing , ado lesc entman ner mar ked by prep -sch ool infl ect ion .Thi s firs t stor yof Sal ing er's lack s any chil d dev elop men t and is con cern edonly with a rrua trat ed gir l's atte mpt to be pop ular .Thegir l is Edna Phi llip s, who, alth oug h she des per atel y lur esJam eson unto the moo nlit pat io, rec eiv es no atte ntio n fromhim ./-Jam eson is mor e con cern ed wit h an Eng lish them eand a blon d with pea nuts down her bac k. lar ren Fren ch has said tha t Jam eson is "as 111 -at-- :-ease in a sop hist icat ed, pred ator y soc iety as Hol den·cau lfie ld and mos t of Sal ing er's oth eredg yado lesc ents .", . ,n,-. . ,. . ,,

15(,.- I,0·"· . 'asEven. ,.early as in his first published story there isthe possib:flity that Salinger had in mind a characterlik Holden. .-- . r· r. . . . t;:Paul Levine, in his chronological study of the misrT·' fit hero omits Jameson from his consideration.Frenchbelieves this omission is an error, for he says thatJameson is the type of social nonconformist that recursthroughout Salinger.Ho1t1ever, Fre11ch is 1 1rong in hiscondemnation of Levine, for as Gwynn and f3lotner havenoted, it is Edna Phillips, not Jameson, who is the15misfit-nonconformist.Jameson fits snugly into thesocial pattern that is expected of him.He will notneglect his English theme because it is a requirement,4and although he would like nothing better than to squaton the floor and pitch peanuts down e blond's back, heis restrained by a st-q;ffy sense of social etiquette.Edna, on the other hand, wants to belong to th p rty so1cimuch that she lies about the inattention that is givento her.She is the misfit, spending the eveninr desertedon the patio; Jameson is the conformist.It is French, however, who notes the similarity ofJameson to Holden and also raises the important point,in opposition to Gwynn and Blotner, of Jameson's innocence.Like much apprentice writing, the story couldbe dismissed if Salinger's nail-gnawing hero·'were not so patently a prototyp of Holden Caul-

.-- -16c,fiel d, and Edn a Phi llip s the model for the.,patr oni zing pre var icat ing "ph onie s" tha t makeHol den 's life mis erab le.Blo tner and Gtvynncom plet ely mis s the poi nt of this stor y t·Jhe nthey assu me tha t Edn a is a pat het ic cha ract erand tha t J'am eson is stup id rath er than in16noc ent.In this sen se, the n, Sal ing er's fir st stor y doe shave a type or inno cen ce-- the inno cen fe tha t stem s fromtoo few exp erie nce s.This inno cen ce wil l be tran srer redto chi ldre n in late r sto ries .Sal inR er's firs t stor y to util ize chi ldre n in anyway is0The Long Deb ut of Loi s Tag gett ," l·Jhi ch app eare din the Sep tem ber- Oct obe r, 194 2, issu e of 3to1.,yoIt isinte res ting to note tha t the chi ld in this stor y resem bles Sal ing er's art at this poi nt-- bot h are ske tchyand und eve lope d.When Sal ing er is at his bes t, hisstor ies con tain some of the mos t eng agin g chil dre n inAmerican lite ratu re.Nev erth eles s, this., stor y is a stepforw ard from its two pre dec esso rs.It is mbr e prof oun dand dev elop ed; theme and sym boli sm are emp loye d to someadv anta ge.Loi s Tag gett is the pro duc t of a wea lthy , soc iall yprom inen t fam ily and is extr eme ly spo iled and pam pere d.'-\He r'fi rst mar riag e, alth oug h sudd en, app ears hap py and!:har mon ious .Nev erth eles s, her husb and Bil l Ted dert on,''I'IIi.I

\17cannot. resist an urge to inflict physical pain upon her.Although he is outwardly content, Bill experiences in- .t, .ward utlrest, presumably because his sudden attraction toLois was inspired by her money.Lois buys a dog for the//same reason she acquired Bill--she thinks they are bbthHowever, the dog is soon gone, and so is I:·111, thecute.marriage ending in Reno.Lois's second marriage is to Carl Currman, a man, who wears white socks because colored ones irritate his.'o.Lois proceeds to change Carl--his direction givingfeet.to cab drivers, his socks, his hair dressing and hisfailure to inhale.Because of t is domineering person-ality Lois beco1ne s anoutsider to her marriage.She is-a prime example, although Levine fails to mention it, of·the misfit hero, and she spends most of hen mornings unoccupied·at the movies.When the marriage results in a child, thingslookright at last, for the baby, like some of her movies, isa successful production.The baby, however, is unableto recognize her rather--the inference being that Lois,. with her many changes, has stripped Carl of his personality.The sudden death of the young child brings Lois,.back to the common level of butchers, cab-drivers, andmaids, and she allo1r1s Carl, even thou.g;h looking stupidand gross, to don his white socks.The incident has ap'parently taup:ht her a cert.ain tolerance and has lessenedj.I. ., .,. ' - -

I,a. , --·',,18 tr······,·.,,. . .;.her emphas is on social appear ances.She has emerged fromher self-co ntrolle d world to make her real debut.Gwynn and Blotne r's short exposi tion is typica l ofthe sketchy critici sm given the early storie s.r."The Long Debut, of Lois Tar,get t" recoun ts howlong it ta·kes a strange New York debuta nte.1(Lois says "ya" and "ivanna ") tio grow up, thepproces s requi·r ing on·e rnarriag e to a sadist andone to a boor, matern ity and the death of thebaby.The story's end o fers the signal ofLois's maturi ty:she stops napging her husbandfor wearin g white socks. 1 7Fre ch , howeve r, has gone beyond this cursory re-·view by compar ing the story to "Uncle Wiggil y in Connectic ut. 11Driven into marria ge--lik e James Purdy' s Malcolm--b ecause s 1e cannot th ink of anythin gelse to do, Lois turns into the same kind ofbitch as Eloise in "Uncle vigr:ily · in Connec ticut,"She denies Carl the simple pleasu res heenjoys and insists that he wear colored socks.Up to the point-- almost at the end of the story- -at which Lois introdu ces her baby to his fatherand Carl rueful ly observe s that the boy doesn' tknow him from Adam, the story. seems a.rough draft for "Uncle v/iggi y in Conne cticut. ''18,; ,.

.,,I 19:t1"' - . , .FocU.sing on th e ch ild , we m.ay se e th at , unlik e Ph oe beor Li on el, it is th e ch ild 's de ath , ra th er tha nits lif e,wh ich co mp let ely in ve rts th e ad ul t's po in t of view. Thech ild is a pa ss iv e fo rc e ra th er th an an ac tiv eon e, an d''·.alt ho ug h the ch ild h·a s an un de ve lop ed pe rs onal ity , thein flu en ce th at it ra di at es is st il l fe lt by Lo is.Th isis th e fi rs t ap pe ara nc e of th at in ta ng ib le ef fect of ch ildon ad ul t wh ich Sa lin ge r's be st sto rie s em ph asi ehi gh ly .The e xt sig ni fic an t sto ry in the de ve lop me nt ofch ild re n in J. D. Sa lin ge r is "B oth Pa rti es Co ncern ed ,"pu bl ish ed in 1 1440tvh ile si tti ng at Ja ke 's, e. jo in t ofre al "c la ss ,'' Ru thi e an d Bi lly , a co up le marri ed tooyo un g, dis ag ree · on th e am ou nt of ni gh t lif eth at a ma r-ria ge ca n wi th sta nd .Ru thi e ac cu se s Bi lly of sh ow ing noco nc ern tow ard th ei r ch ild , alt ho ug h Bi lly arg ues th athe do es sho w a typ e of co .nc ern ( he lil {e s hi sfe et }, bu tha s no t ex pr es se d it .The rid e home oc cu rs in sil en ce ,an d th e us ua l ne ck ing in th e ra ra ge is om itt ed .Th e fo llo 'tv ing da y Ru thi e tak es the ch ild andru nsto m ot he r's , lea vi ng 31 lly alo ne .Th is i ve s him anop po rtu ni ty to ex hi bi t his ch ild ish na tu re by pe f orm ingtwo ac ts common to many Sa lin ge r ch ild re n. Fi rst, heass um es an ot he r ro le an d pl ay -a cts in th e ma ke-b eli ev ema nn er of Ph oe be , tvho pl ay s Be ne dic l{ .4.r r1o ld,an d Ho lde n,wb 6pl ay s th e wo un de d str an ge r.Se co nd , Bi lly cr ea te sthe fi rs t ev ide nc e of an ill us io n in Sa lin ge r and, lik e. , .,.,',. .,·.,. .

J'' .:.Ramona with Jinnny Jimmer eeno or· Sybil with· the banana fish,he gives birth to Sam, the invisib le piano player .These,two childis h acts serve to underl ine Rilly's immatu rity.-.The story has a soap opera ending 1,1hen Ruthie comes ,11.home, ap1)are ntly dissat isfied l·1i·th lifet,Ji thher pa1 ent sand., in . an evening thunder storm, receiv es comfor t andassuran ce rom Billy.Critic al recepti on of this story has been minute ,f:and those critics who do consid er it tend to belittl e itrathe than to see it as a step in the develop ment of#Saling er's art.11cerned " isstorie s."1c·French has said that "Both Parties Con-about the most trivia l of all fsaling er'§]Gwynn and Blotne r dismis s the story t-Ji th atwo sentenc e surnmar y,20and Lev Jne, 'leigan d, and Hassanfail even to give it mention .Yet the story certain ly deserve s more than this,for it is more pivota l to Saling erts artisti c growththan are the short-s horts sold to Collie s, and it contains the raw materi al of techniq ues which Saling er laterrerine s.Certain ly the diction of the story is remini s-cent of' that of r olden Caulfi eld, althot1[ ;h the speechorBilly is somewh at straine d and not as natura l sHolden I s.rrhe desire to commu nicate, so predom inantin Holden and marked by many unsucc essful phone calls,is represe nted in this story by two attemp tsto place a succes sful call.orBillyAlso the mergin g of the/!

. ',2·1opposite extremes of language--slob ancl refined--alto()prominent in Holden when he mentions the Doberman .pinsche.r l·Jbo "used to come over and elieve himself ·onour lal1nu a11d. :t 1hen arg;uing withJStradlater he says,"You're a diI'ty stupid sonuv,abitch of a moron," is firstpresented in this story.These relationships, fully/daveloped in The Catcher in the Rye, were originallycreated inu 1 oth!Jarties Concsrnede"J·The influence that "Both Parties Concernedn has onlater works does not stop here.Also present is theinfluence of child on adult, a theme developed in NineStories.'-Noteworthy here is the difference in attitudewhich Billy and Ruthie take toward tl1eir child oBillyshows a concern for the child only 1r1ben err1barrassedinto it.Although he does harbor an interest and evena kind of love for his child, it is not spontaneous andmust be iinited by the prompting of his wife.It isthis difference in attitude, centering on the child,which causes the estfrigement.Since this is responsiblefor a final and more satisfying agreement between Billyand Ruthie the child has had an indirect part in thereconciliation of man and wife, and the restorativepo er of a child is indicated.The groundwork forPhoebe has been laid.Far from being a minor story of little- consequence,"Both Parties Concerned" is an important story in,:·.

Salinger's art improves, however, he relies on the use of children to a greater degree. Some of Salinger's more memorable characters, su9h as Holden and Phoebe Caulfield, have their origin in early stories. Salinger.reaches his height in the de velopment of children w1th Nine Stories and The Catcher !!! the Rye. It