Teddy

Through its exploration of The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment, “Teddy” offers a critique of American materialism. Though the central conflict arises between Bob Nicholson—who represents logic—and Teddy—who represents spiritual enlightenment—Salinger subtly rejects materialism through Teddy’s parents, the McArdles. Instead of familial comfort, the opening scene is fraught with tension and an undercurrent of violence. Mr. McArdle fixates on material goods: the expensive Gladstone suitcase on which Teddy stands, and the Leica camera that he directs Teddy to retrieve. Both objects are symbolic of the family’s class. It is Mr. McArdle’s concern for material goods that pushes Teddy out of the family’s room and toward death. Teddy lacks his own money but is spiritually rich from a past life, and is thus concerned that his current incarnation as an American man will inhibit progress. The short story’s setting—an ocean liner returning to America from London—is not only symbolic of class, but also of Teddy’s continued journey toward spiritual enlightenment.

The short story uses dialogue to create dark humor and undercut its philosophy. Each character’s distinct speech, with colloquialisms and specific phrases, exemplifies Realism: Mr. McArdle calls Teddy “buddy,” and Nicholson frequently uses “heaven’s sake” to express frustration. These quirks flesh out the characters and situate them within specific social classes. They also treat philosophical subjects like religion with flippancy, which creates dark humor. For example, Teddy asks Nicholson if he knows the biblical Adam and Eve, and he responds “Not personally” (138). Because the short story is told in objective third-person perspective, without access to characters’ thoughts, dialogue is what allows insight into their beliefs and emotions. Salinger then subverts this Realism in favor of Postmodernism, to critique the idea of objective reality or truth.

The short story uses ambiguity, a Postmodern idea, to leave Teddy’s fate open to interpretation. The story hints at characters’ internality through dialogue, description, and in Teddy’s case, journal entries. However, readers can only interpret these clues, being left without concrete answers. The story’s objective third-person perspective not only creates distance, but also a shift from a hurrying Teddy to Nicholson, the latter of whom just questioned the former’s views on religion and education. This shift leaves both Nicholson and the reader without concrete answers about Teddy’s true nature.

The short story’s direct language primarily comes from its child characters. For example, Teddy observes orange peels outside of his parents’ cabin window and wonders what might happen if someone “sort of chopped [his] head off” (125). Likewise, Teddy’s sister Booper states that the younger Myron will become an orphan if his mother joins his deceased father—highlighting the theme of Death From an Unsentimental Perspective. The siblings’ juxtaposition of childlike innocence and dark topics further creates dark humor. Contradiction aligns with Postmodern ideas like pluralism and multiple interpretations: The contrast between Teddy’s childlike appearance and adult intellectualism not only creates humor, but also casts doubt on his true nature. He claims he is a reincarnated Indian man, who accesses past information through meditation, and this creates Postmodern ambiguity. He subverts Realism, as he is a realistic character whose knowledge of past lives and future death seems impossible. Teddy represents both innocence and wisdom, and could read as an antihero in his lack of idealism. He lacks idealism and rejects logic, yet faces his death as if it were a simple task to complete on his to-do list.

Speaking of direct language, the compact structure of the story—four scenes over the course of less than one hour—allows tension to build. Firstly, the repetitive reminder of Teddy and Booper’s swimming lesson creates a deadline. While the deadline doesn’t seem like a matter of life or death, Nicholson’s questions and Teddy’s observation of the time build tension nevertheless. Secondly, the unchanging setting of the ocean liner creates a sense of claustrophobia. However, with limited space and objects, symbols and motifs become easier to identify, thus allowing more interpretations. Though compact, the story’s structure is symmetrical: The opening scene features Mr. McArdle smoking, and near the end, Nicholson lights his own cigarette. In the beginning of the story, Teddy ascends stairs, and in the end, Nicholson descends them. This mirroring between different characters creates a sense of closure. However, the ambiguous ending surrounding Teddy’s fate upsets this closure, highlighting the dissonance of The Loss of Innocence—which reflects Salinger’s disillusionment with World War II.