Literary Criticism
1. "They all pertain to the lack of something in the world, and it might be said that what Mr. Salinger has written about so far is the absence of love," (Welty). We have to disagree with this quote from Welty's review, Threads of Innocence, because in Just Before the War with the Eskimos, romanticism is remotely exhibited between Franklin and Ginny's sister, as stated on the themes page. Franklin seems upset when Ginny mentions her sister's engagement, although he chooses not to show it. For the full review of the book, go to http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-stories01.html.
2. " The tale ends with a nice observation, but is more interesting for Salinger’s odd interest in very uninteresting characters- characters for whom narcissism is all the rage," (Schneider). We also disagree with this quote because Just Before the War with the Eskimos contains a great deal of symbolism that this reviewer does not seem to catch, and instead finds the story to be unamusing and pointless. For the full review of the story, go to http://www.hackwriters.com/ninestories.htm. Additionally, here is a video review of the story by Dean Goranites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpVxq4vG910. This review is very descriptive and informative of Salinger's writing style in the book.
2. " The tale ends with a nice observation, but is more interesting for Salinger’s odd interest in very uninteresting characters- characters for whom narcissism is all the rage," (Schneider). We also disagree with this quote because Just Before the War with the Eskimos contains a great deal of symbolism that this reviewer does not seem to catch, and instead finds the story to be unamusing and pointless. For the full review of the story, go to http://www.hackwriters.com/ninestories.htm. Additionally, here is a video review of the story by Dean Goranites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpVxq4vG910. This review is very descriptive and informative of Salinger's writing style in the book.