Rebel in the Rye Page #2

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striving to achieve.

And by the end

of the semester

God willing,

or in Mr. Salinger's

case, unwilling

you will all understand

the difference between

wanting to be a writer

and actually being one.

My countrymen,

and my friends

I had hoped against hope

that some miracle

would prevent

a devastating war

in Europe

and bring to an end

the invasion of Poland

by Germany.

I have said many times

that I have seen war

and I hate war.

I hope

the United States

will keep out

of this war.

I believe that it will.

Oh, Mr. Salinger.

Come in, have a seat.

Would you like a drink?

- Coffee, please.

- Coffee, please.

So, how did you

find me here?

Oh, I used to go to NYU,

and I always saw you

grading papers

in the window.

Hey, why do you come

all the way down

to the Village?

I couldn't think

of a better place

to read the work

of the next Fitzgerald

or Hemingway

than right here

in Greenwich Village.

- Sir.

- Thank you.

And what about you?

What happened at NYU?

They kick you out

for that mouth of yours?

No, it was

a mutual understanding.

They wanted me gone,

and I wanted them dead.

[laughing]

Well, you're not

the first wise-ass

I've taught, you know.

You act out

at authority figures

like me

because you're emotionally

repressed at home

and you also think

you're the cleverest boy

that ever walked

the planet, and no one

recognizes what a genius

you are.

It's pretty typical stuff,

if you want

to know the truth.

But enough of my

dime-store Freud.

What can I do for you,

Mr. Salinger?

Uh, well, I -- I -- I

wanted to ask about

what you talked about

in class.

You know, my voice

overwhelming the story.

I always thought my voice

is what defines me

as a writer.

Absolutely.

Your voice is what makes

your story unique.

But when that voice

overwhelms the story

as it did in your

admissions essay

then it becomes

an expression

more of your ego

than of the emotional

experience of the reader.

Does that make sense?

Kind of.

Kind of..

No.

I'd apologize

for being late, but since

I'm going to be late

for every single class

this semester

I'm going to instead

save my strength

for the reading

of your pages

and heavy drinking.

Now, today

I want to focus on

the writer's voice.

And to illustrate this,

I'm going to read

a passage to you

from William Faulkner.

Alright, now I want you

to listen carefully.

In fact,

close your eyes.

"The jailer cut her down

"and then, revived her.

"Then he beat her

"and whipped her.

"She had hung herself

with her dress."

Alright, so,

what happened?

A woman in jail

tried to commit suicide

and after the jailer

saved her, he beat her.

Exactly. This is why

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