Shreya's Short Story Blog

When I first read “The Man Child,” I was quite surprised by the ending where Jamie kills Eric. I didn't expect anything so drastic to happen. But, as we discussed this story in class, I realized that Baldwin gives the reader several clues as to what might happen. Jamie, when first introduced, is portrayed as a nice, but at the same time mysterious, character. He’s Eric’s father’s best friend and owns a dog that's always with him. After the initial description though, there are some details that make him seem odd. For example, Eric notices that Jamie has “the kind of eyes which no one had ever looked into” (Baldwin 62). This comment makes it seems like Jamie is distant or unapproachable (at least to Eric), which is weird considering the fact that he spends so much time at Eric's house. Also, it's mentioned that Jamie once had a wife, but she “had run away” (Baldwin 63). Other than this, no further explanation is given by the narrator. This suggests that

The ending of “Teddy” is what makes the story so interesting. Salinger intentionally leaves the story open-ended and up to the reader’s interpretation. When I read the story, I thought that Teddy had been pushed into the empty pool by his sister and, as a result, died. Looking back at the story, there were several instances where Teddy seems to allude to his death. The first is when he is talking to his parents. Right before he leaves their room, he says “After I go out this door, I may only exist in the minds of all my acquaintances.” It’s possible that Teddy’s telling his parents that they’ll never see him again after he leaves. Since he only has “a very strong affinity” for his parents, it could make sense that he calls them “acquaintances.” He also writes in his notebook, "It will either happen today or February 14, 1958 when I am sixteen. It is ridiculous to mention even.”  He doesn't explicitly say that he's talking about his death, and at fi