Talk:The Laughing Man (Salinger)
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I've created this article, but I have to admit I'm not entirely happy with it. In particular, I don't know how far to go with the summary. My primary motivation in making this article was to provide a sort of Cliff's Notes for people who had heard the story referenced in some other text (like the anime series) and wanted to quickly know what it was about. If I summarize too much the article becomes wordy and derivative, but not enough and it's simply unclear and fails in its purpose. So I'm really not sure where I fell here.
The analysis, in the same vein, is mostly there just to give passerby a sense of what the story is supposed to be about and why it's important. Wikipedia is not a venue for literary analysis, and I don't want to go on too much about it, but at the same time I think it's worthwhile for someone clicking over here from the disambig to at least know why the story gets cited a lot. I'd be okay with seeing the analysis cut down or even tossed, if that seems better.
The full text of TLM is available on the web (a quick Google will find it for you) but I'm not sure about the ethics of adding an external link to such a clear copyright violation. Out of deference to Mr. Salinger I decided not to add that link to this article myself. Collabi 11:27, 9 August 2005 (UTC)
Your interpretation is excellent, albeit (in my opinion) idiosyncratic.
I've read numerous critical works on Salinger, including of his short fiction. Analyses of Franny and Zooey are the only places I've ever encountered the notion of Salinger's work having hidden allusions to a pregnancy. Hidden because--at the time of their publication, when children being conceived out-of-wedlock was a more-delicate subject than it is today--revealing such a fact would overwhelm all other elements of plot and characterization.
I believe, however, that Franny is having neither morning sickness, nor a "nervous breakdown," but a spiritual crisis. (Despite Lane's tactless euphemisms for being impatient to have sex with Franny again.)
In this case, also, I feel the evidence is lacking. I interpret the death of the Laughing Man as a manifestation of the Chief's grief upon learning Mary Hudson has broken off their relationship.
The remarkable thing, perhaps, is that they stayed together as long as they did. One obstacle to compatibility: they are not in the same social class. We can easily imagine the Chief has--and needs--a scholarship to get himself through law school. He could use a few extra bucks, and thus found himself in the situation of babysitting the Comanches. (However, he is well-suited to the responsibility, and enjoys his role as mentor.)
Mary's wardrobe reveals she comes from a family more likely to make it into the Social Register. She is a young woman who could find nearly any boyfriend she chooses, and not merely because she is beautiful. John (the Chief) is homely, less affluent than Mary and her family, and in other ways less than an impressive "catch".
Stung by his loss, the young Mr. Gesudski commits a kind of suicide-by-proxy. By killing off the Laughing Man (who--careful reading reveals--is in many ways similar to his creator), he also "murders" the pleasant, wondrous daydreams of a busful of children.
For the Comanches, the Laughing Man is real. The narrator's musings on how the stories are "portable" suggests the character of the Laughing Man held a prominent place his imagination, as a boy. Even while sitting in the tub at home...long after his outings with his agemates and the Chief.
Nevertheless, I regard the story as bittersweet, not bitter. The air of nostalgia helps Salinger maintain a light tone. drone5 22:30, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
I think Drone's got the right idea. I didn't see Mary getting pregnant either, but the article seems to refer to it. I'm also not entirely sure the content of this article (that is, literary analysis) is befitting of a Wikipedia entry, but I like it and don't care to change it. Dabizi 03:23, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
