Response to J.D. Salinger's Death, Belated
So Mr. Salinger has died. An author known for his absence makes news with the finality of his final absence. What is left to contemplate of this--his--narrative is finality, and the society he left behind?
Jonathan Foer on the radio talking about adolescent alienation, that 20th century right of passage. Will it still exist in a hyper-connected world?
At the cafe, people sit in rows and stare into their screens. They seek out this place where, together, apart, they can stare into their screens. A group of young people--late adolescence, early adulthood--the prime of it--anchored to their screens; here is today's weigh station. What did Mr. Salinger say of this? He said nothing. Is there no gap, still, in which anomie, like a weed, can grow?
Jonathan Foer on the radio talking about adolescent alienation, that 20th century right of passage. Will it still exist in a hyper-connected world?
At the cafe, people sit in rows and stare into their screens. They seek out this place where, together, apart, they can stare into their screens. A group of young people--late adolescence, early adulthood--the prime of it--anchored to their screens; here is today's weigh station. What did Mr. Salinger say of this? He said nothing. Is there no gap, still, in which anomie, like a weed, can grow?
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