I greatly enjoyed Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger particularly because every story ended with some sort of unexpected twist, revelation, emotional moment, or totally confusing statement (as is the case with "Just Before the War with the Eskimos"). From suicide to a religious experience to a dead Easter chick in a wastebasket, the stories are never predictable, and frequently confusing. Even though none of the stories in this collection had overlapping characters as seen in the other two collections we've read this semester, Nine Stories felt surprisingly unified. Salinger has a very distinct style and focuses on unique, yet still quite similar characters: upper class, intellectually inclined children or young people, who maintain some quality of innocence even though their character interacts intensely with the adult world. All of Salinger's stories center on the dialogue and relationship between characters, regardless of the age difference or whether the characters had even met before or not.
"Uncle Wiggily Goes to Connecticut" was the least memorable of all the stories for me, but in terms of fitting Salinger's theme of exploring the relationship between children and adults, it's really one of the most meaningful. Most of the story is just a visit between Eloise and Mary Jane, full of some seemingly superficial conversation topics such as which color of hair dye their friend had used, people they used to know, and movie stars. The two women are very talkative and seem to be having a good time doing a lot of laughing, drinking, and smoking. "Marvelous," seems to be Mary Jane's response to everything. This depiction of adults is contrasted with the character of Ramona, who is quiet and a little awkward, constantly scratching herself and appearing thoroughly unimpressed with Mary Jane's attempts to engage her in conversation. Ramona clashes with Eloise's confident and bubbly (though as it turns out, also extremely self aware) personality and is instead interested in playing outside, swords, and having a companion. It is clear from the existence of Jimmy Jimereeno, Ramona's imaginary friend, that Ramona and Eloise's relationship is not close. This seems to be true with many of the other parental figures in Salinger’s writing as, with the exception of Boo Boo in “Down at the Dinghy,” all of them from Esme’s guardian to Teddy’s mother and father seem distant and not understanding. Yet to say that the wealthy, self-absorbed adults of Salinger's stories are merely superficial characters to bring out the innocence and creativity of children, is way too simplistic a view, and borderline incorrect in some cases. Eloise is clearly struggling with issues of identity and dissatisfaction with her current life. She is still mourning the death of Walt and her inability to talk about it with many people or to find the qualities he had in her husband. Though Eloise is upper class, she is also able to critique the superficiality of the lifestyle she’s in, especially in her husband Lew. “The first thing he asked me was what his rank was,” she says, about Lew and Walt’s military service, demonstrating her frustration with the collection and display of material achievements in the world she lives in(Salinger 31). The ending of the story is particularly poignant and a little strange, as Ramona invents a new imaginary friend causing Eloise to physically scare her a bit and then break down, holding Ramona’s glasses while she cries. She turns to Mary Jane for comfort: “‘I was a nice girl,’ she pleaded, wasn’t I?” (Salinger 38). Though her parenting is certainly flawed, Salinger doesn't present Eloise in a completely negative light or as the one-dimensional superficial woman that she fears she is.
Whether Salinger’s story is aligned with the child or the adult (or in the case of “De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period” and “Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes,” the more child-like adult), Salinger tends to use the image of the child as the one causing change or inspiration or some sort of emotional experience in the adult--because of some innocent wisdom or honesty children possess. On the other hand, Salinger refrains from polarizing his adult characters or trapping them in superficial roles. While often the subjects of criticism for materialism, many are given incredibly complex stories and experiences that often influence the child too. While Nine Stories features a lot of kids brushing up against the adult world, Salinger also points out that there is often not a clear line between the two and both can learn much from the other. Whether the child-adult relationship provides a profound emotional understanding like with Esme and the American soldier, or merely a common loneliness felt by Ramona and Eloise, there is some similarity and understanding to be found in connecting with people on an inter generational level.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same about this story. "Uncle Wiggily Goes to Connecticut" wasn’t as memorable for me as some of the other Salinger stories, and I’m really glad I read your post because now I see that it totally belongs in the collection. In all the stories that had children in them, I found the child-adult interactions to be the most interesting scenes to read. You make a great point noting that in Salinger’s books there isn’t a clear line between the children’s and adults’ worlds. We see Sybil as almost a prophet figure, Esme as a very mature child, Ramona as a girl in her own world, and Teddy as this ten-year-old genius. I enjoyed the recurring theme of children and adults almost switching roles or at least not following the stereotypical parent-kid relationships.
Ah that's so interesting that you guys didn't like "Uncle Wiggly" because it was one of my favorites! In my opinion Ramona and Eloise aren't all that different. In fact, instead of a clash, I think of Ramona as Eloise's younger self, or at least embodying similar characteristics (specifically in regard to their attachment to men, Jimmy and Walk respectively). That helps me make sense of the last line that is otherwise confusing and almost seems out of place.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the story that emphasizes children the most is "Teddy". Maybe that is why Salinger placed it last in the set. "Teddy" is also the first and only story where Salinger depicts a child explicitly negatively (Booper). Maybe this serves as a reminder that while children can teach adults a little something, not all children are as pure as some would have you believe?
ReplyDeleteThis was a very insightful post. I thought that your connection of the stories was well done. I had mainly thought of children brushing up against the adult world, but you are right: it goes both ways in Salinger.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Other people have also written blogs posts analyzing the child-adult relationships throughout the "Nine Stories." It can't be coined as coincidence because it comes back again and again. I can't help but wonder why Salinger focused on this theme. Other than Down at the Dinghy, I would say that the relationships between child-parent are either unhappy relationships or the parents are indifferent to their children. In Bananafish, the main focus was on the relationship between Sybil and Seymour, but there is also a child-parent dynamic. Sybil's mom is indifferent to what Sybil does and goes the bar with her friend instead. Teddy is another clear example of parental neglect and almost abusive. It makes me question whether Salinger had good relationships with his parents and his writings may be a reflection of his own experiences.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty cool! I think that another theme Salinger tackles in "Nine Stories" is materialism and seems to constantly critique it. Somehow his critique of materialism and fond depiction of children seem to tie together for me. In the way that adults have some emotional experience through interacting with children, it appears to clear their vision of materialism.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that Eloise's parenting leaves something to be desired--but Salinger isn't all that big on "parenting," anyway. We get the impression that Ramona is going to be just fine--it's Eloise we're worried about. You're right that we see in this story some of the roots of her cynical, "hard as nails" external pose. She presents herself as invulnerable, unsentimental, hypercritical because she's been hurt so badly. At the end, she suddenly sees herself and her behavior for what it is--and I don't think it's just the new imaginary friend that she's responding to. Her gratuitous meanness in not letting the maid's husband spend the night, telling Lew to find his own way home--in all these ways, she sees that she's no longer the "nice girl" she was when she first came to New York from Idaho.
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