Uncle Wiggily In Connecticut by J.D. Salinger, 1948
The magic trick:
Illustrating how World War II wreaked havoc on the expectations and experiences of privileged white people
This one reads a bit like a very talented student attempting to write like F. Scott Fitzgerald. The young women speak in a way that is self-consciously demonstrating to the reader “how the youth talk nowadays” like those great early Fitzgerald stories. Unlike those Tales From The Jazz Age, though, “Uncle Wiggily” also reads like a great dialogue wanting for a plot.
But as I say that, perhaps wanting for a plot is the point.
Eloise and Mary Jane are adrift – not old but not young anymore. They reminisce fondly on their college days but find no joy in their present tense. It’s clear that World War II has wreaked havoc on their chances at finding a satisfactory adult identity.
Clearly, I had no idea what I was going to write about as I sat down to type this magic trick. So there you go. I think that’s it right there. This is a story that does a remarkable job in capturing the freefall so many privileged white youth must have felt as World War II gave way to the baby boom. Urbane promise, education, and wealth has turned into suburban ennui and alcoholic depression.
And that’s quite a trick on Salinger’s part.
The selection:
“Which one?”
“I don’t know. The one that was in our Psych class, that always–”
“Both of them were in our Psych class.”
“Well. The one with the terrific–”
“Marcia Louise. I ran into her once, too. She talk your ear off?”
“God, yes. But you know what she told me, though? Dr. Whiting’s dead. She said she had a letter from Barbara Hill saying Whiting got cancer last summer and died and all. She only weighed sixty-two pounds. When she died. Isn’t that terrible?”
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