“Down at the Dinghy” (1949)

I like this story by J.D. Salinger pretty well, but it seems slight compared to some of his others. It features a somewhat gratuitous appearance of Boo Boo Glass Tannenbaum, a member of the Glass family but a more obscure one. Her status as a member of that family is incidental to the story. But it’s no doubt of interest to Glass family completists. The story involves Boo Boo, her son, and her two servants. The son, Lionel, overhears one of the servants saying his father is a “kike,” which he hears and understands as “kite.” He doesn’t know the slur, but he gets the hostile intent and runs away from home. He’s only 4 but already has a habit of running away. I think this family unit is vacationing at a summer resort kind of place (which they may own). Boo Boo tracks Lionel down to a boat, a dinghy. She has to talk to him from the dock because he refuses to get out of the boat. A conversation between them follows that is reminiscent of the conversation Seymour Glass has with a young girl in the story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Jocular, gentle bantering from the adult, who is at ease communicating with kids, as if it lifts away any misgivings by the kid’s own unself-conscious innocence, or something like that. It has a false edge, some sense of desperation. This is more so with Seymour and less so with Boo Boo, who we have not seen much of in the Glass family saga. In some ways, the story turns on the antisemitic remark that has upset Lionel. It seems to be no particular thing for Boo Boo, though she might be putting that on for Lionel’s sake. I had no strong sense she was going to fire the servants or indeed felt anything stronger than mild disappointment with them. Lionel only understood the intent of the remark, not the word used. So antisemitism ultimately feels more like a side issue. The main point seems to be the banter between mother and son, and more generally the positive vibe that kids put into the world. It’s a story where the charge against Salinger that he’s too glib does seem to have a point. Lionel has never been heard from again (at least not yet!) and Boo Boo never got much play either. That’s how I get to this story being more slight than anything, though Salinger as always hits a certain level of breezy fun to read and this story is no exception.

J.D. Salinger, Nine Stories
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