[Bananafish] Another wrong thing in the Glass world

[James Rovira]

Wait...are you assuming the events in S:AI are in 1959 because the story 
was published in 1959?  That's plausible, but would mean that Salinger 
intended the initial reading of the story upon its release date to be 
the primary reading -- only readers reading it "in the present" would 
get it.  People reading it in the future might just assume that the year 
Buddy was writing was 1960 whether it was published in 1959 or not.

This all requires, though, that Salinger would have a pretty good idea 
of when the story was going to hit publication.  Can you really say that 
Salinger didn't expect it to hit the presses in 1960 when he first sent 
it off to the NYer, and that it wound up getting published early?

Furthermore, Salinger may have those dates and that calculator, but that 
doesn't mean he can't choose to allow Buddy a slip up.  Buddy isn't 
neessarily Salinger.  The important thing is that Buddy has those dates 
and a calculator.

Jim R

Michael J ANELLO wrote:
> the story was printed june 1959, so, since it's 1959 in the story, it 
> would have to be in the first 6 months of 1959.  unless, like 
> bananafish, it was written in 1958 with the events happening in the 
> future........
>  
> i guess my issue, is that i picture a piece of paper hanging up on 
> salinger's wall next to where he writes his glass stories.  on it are 
> the names of the glass children, their EXACT birthdates, and the exact 
> dates of important events in their lives.
>  
> i also see a calculator on salinger's desk for quick reference checks as 
> to how many years it's been since seymour's wedding, or franny's bat 
> mitzvah.
>  
> so, to answer your question...yes, i can expect!  :)  i'm just 
> cataloguing, don't mind me...
>  
> -mike
> 
>  >>> jrovira at drew.edu 3/29/2006 2:43 PM >>>
> Suppose Franny was born, say, close to Jan. of 1935, but Buddy was
> writing close to the end of 1959.  Wouldn't it be fair to say she was
> 25?  Isn't that how people talk?
> 
> More important, can you expect much more precision from a big brother in
> a family with five siblings and some nieces and nephews?
> 
> Jim
> 
> Michael J ANELLO wrote:
>  > Here, Zooey, in 1959, is 29.  Franny is 25.  If she was 25 in 1959, she
>  > was born in 1934.  If she was born in 1935, in 1959 she'd be 24.  HUH!?!