Tag Archives: J. D. Salinger

Presidents as Points of Projection

By Robin Bates | Published: January 10, 2012

Mitt Romney may appear to lack a core, but so did Chance in Jerzy Kosinski’s novel “Being There.” And even Barack Obama is different things to different people.

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Becoming the Hero of Our Own Life

By Robin Bates | Published: June 24, 2010

David Copperfield  (1935)         “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show,” writes narrator David Copperfield at the beginning of the great Charles Dickens novel.  But why the uncertainty?  Can’t we just decide to be the hero of […]

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Epic vs. Ironic Heroes

By Robin Bates | Published: June 10, 2010

On Monday I described my friend Alan as an Odysseus figure for the way he has coming back, time after time, in his battle with his cancer.  He appreciated the article but was taken aback by the comparison and asked why I hadn’t compared him instead with someone like Holden Caulfield.  He said he didn’t […]

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I Was a Secret Holden Caulfield

By Robin Bates | Published: September 10, 2009

I contrasted Lord of the Rings with J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye the other day.    It’s not a contrast that anyone other than I would make, and it’s all based on the fact that I loved the one and hated the other.  In my post today I explore my dislike of the Salinger […]

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Fantasy: Help or Hindrance?

By Robin Bates | Published: September 8, 2009

My friend Alan Paskow, who is struggling with cancer, queried me about my post on Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman,” wondering whether the poem wasn’t just an insubstantial fantasy. I’ve been writing about The Lord of the Rings as a fantasy perhaps indulged in by a World War I veteran who wasn’t willing to face up […]

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