J.D. Salinger, a man of mystery
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J.D. Salinger has always interested me.
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He was a man of intense recluse and privacy. He garnered as much acclaim as anyone, yet he had zero desire for public exposure. He rarely made appearances or granted interviews. He didn’t care to play the role of sage or critic or leader-of-the-pack. He didn’t want to be bothered.
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Salinger had no answers. He created Holden Caulfield, a symbol of psychological freedom, rebellion and individuality for generations. What else could one want from him?? He exposed truth through his art and then left it alone.
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Salinger represented a type of writer I admired. A writer who is a reflection of his characters yet removed from the creation. That’s an important distinction I believe killed other influences of mine like Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway, and Hunter Thompson, who weren’t able to escape the shadow of their creations, and all eventually took their own lives (Kerouac drinking himself to death).
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Over the years I would Google J.D. Salinger just to see if the old fart was still alive. I was driven by curiosity. Eager to see if he could get away with his reclusiveness or if he would meet some poor demise.
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I paid homage to Salinger in Headz. On p.142, in an important scene where Thelonious reaches his personal climax walking around the Lot. Thelonious, when he is most alive, is a catcher of all that is lost, including himself.
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“Completely elevated, Thelonious ventured further on Shakedown Street. Five paramedics ran toward the corner. Another one bites and another one bites. The dust on a Southern car caught his eye. The fat red laces on a pair of Adidas caught his eye. He caught a brand new price tag hanging off Birkenstock sandals. Thelonious looked up to catch a poseur Federal agent. Thelonious knew a phony when he saw phony. He caught everything, even his own reflection in the window of a Subaru Outback. He caught the New York plates and nodded. He even caught the town, Rye.”
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J.D. Salinger was able to pass away from natural causes at the age of 91. He did it. The ol bugger made it. Salinger took us to the highest peaks of literary truth; he wrestled with the devil and lived in his own way happily ever after…
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I saw something about this on TV last night
Although I knew this, I still found the post quite interesting.
How do you come up with all of this? You must have some good foundation on the subject right?
I found this article useful in a paper I am writing at university. Hopefully, I get an A+ now!
Thanks
Bernice Franklin
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