When I read
the short story Pretty Mouth and Green My
Eyes, I pretty quickly concluded that the girl spending the evening with
Lee was Arthur’s wife Joanie. From the discussion I heard in class, most people
seemed to agree, as there is a lot of evidence in the text that points to this
conclusion. However there was a divide in the class as to whether Arthur was
aware of this or not. Some people seemed to think that Arthur suspected Lee of
being with Joanie, and others thought that Arthur didn’t suspect Lee at all. There
is more room for debate with this topic than whether Joanie was with Lee or
not, as Salinger never gave enough evidence to make it obvious which one is
true. I don’t think there is clear-cut evidence to prove either side
completely, but I am of the opinion that Arthur didn’t suspect Lee at all.
The first
impression I got of Lee was a backstabbing friend, and I honestly didn’t like
him much.
He seemed caring and thoughtful from the way he “comforted” Arthur,
but knowing that he was cheating with Arthur’s wife made me dislike him. I
disliked him because no matter what he said or looked like on the outside, just
the fact that he was cheating revealed to me an unforgivable characteristic. In
my mind he became a sort of antagonist, and so Arthur, as the victim, became
the character that I rooted for. I started supporting Arthur as I read the
story, and I didn’t want Arthur to be deceptive like Lee was. So in a way I
hoped that Arthur never knew about Lee being with Joanie and therefore wouldn’t
do things that would make him into an antagonist as well.
When Arthur called Lee back,
some people thought Arthur lied to Lee about Joanie returning because he wanted
to test Lee and deceive him. When I read this part, I thought that Arthur lied
to Lee because he was thankful that Lee comforted him, and didn’t want his
friend to keep worrying about him. I had the idea that Arthur was actually a
caring friend. This is because when Arthur first called Lee, Arthur asked Lee three times whether he woke him up. I took this as evidence that Arthur
wanted to make sure he wasn’t bothering Lee in any way, even though his own
situation was a much bigger deal than Lee getting enough sleep. In the midst of
his own troubles, Arthur seemed to still look after his friend’s interests
above his own.
This is the
way I interpreted the story, but I do realize that it is a perfectly legitimate
claim that Arthur did in fact suspect Lee of cheating with his wife. What do
others of you think? Do you think Arthur knew of this or not? Did you like
Arthur and root for him in the story as I did?
I agree that the anonymous girl in the story was Joanie. Therefore, I also agree that Arthur was lying to Lee about Joanie coming home. However, I would not read so much significance into what Arthur says since he is clearly very drunk. I do not think that Lee's constant asking if he woke Arthur up is indicative of being a good friend. Instead, I just see this as a sign that Arthur is drunk and confused.
ReplyDeleteWhen I initially read it, and after class discussion, my opinion remained that the girl in question was in fact Joanie. I think you bring up an interesting point in saying that Arthur actually didn't know and was just being a caring friend but I think that Salinger drops hints that may indicate that he does know what's going on or at least has a suspicion. While he does ask many times whether or not he has woken Lee up, he randomly asks to come over for a drink which seems rather unnatural.
ReplyDeleteSome people took Arthur's concern with whether or not Lee was in bed as being a case of Arthur trying to make Lee slip into saying that Arthur's wife was in bed with Lee.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Arthur suspects Lee, necessarily. He seems too genuinely concerned with airing these anxieties and frustrations, and genuinely interested in what Lee has to say. He's suspicious of Joanie, but seems to trust Lee. Which Lee realizes, and feels progressively crappy as the story goes on, and he's forced to lie to Arthur over and over (ironically, in order to be a good friend--he could just make an excuse and get rid of Arthur, but he keeps dealing with him). To me, this is why Arthur's white lie at the end hits him so hard--he sees what a "dog" he is, how he's partly responsible for his friend's worry and anxiety, and his sincere efforts to help are severely compromised by the fact that his pal's wife is in bed with him. It's possible for him to simultaneously want to help Arthur and to be capable of deceiving him with his wife.
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