The Laughing Man by J.D. Salinger
In The Laughing Man by J.D. Salinger we have the theme of innocence, escape, change and coming of age. Taken from his Nine Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator, who is looking back at a period of his life when he was nine years old. The story itself is a frame narrative (story within a story) and after reading the story the reader realises that there are similarities between the Chief and The Laughing Man. If anything it would appear that the Chief, by telling the narrator and the other Comanches about The Laughing Man, is in some ways describing his own life (though he is doing so through fantasy). The sadness The Laughing Man feels, particularly at the end of the story when his companion Black Wing dies, is mirrored by the sadness that the Chief feels when Mary Hudson leaves him.
Though the narrator does not appear to be aware of this connection between the Chief and The Laughing Man there does seem to be further similarities between both. Just as the narrator tells the reader that The Laughing Man’s face was disfigured (and possibly made to look ugly), the narrator’s physical description of the Chief also appears to be unflattering. Though it is interesting and possibly due to being in awe of the Chief, that the narrator after describing the Chief’s physical appearance also suggests that the Chief had ‘all the most photogenic features of Buck Jones, Ken Maynard and Tom Mix’ (actors in the 1920s and 30s). It may also be a case that by creating The Laughing Man (who is a hero to the narrator and the other Comanches), the Chief likewise wishes to be seen as a hero (to the narrator and the other Comanches).
The fact that the Chief does not appear to have any friendships with people of his own age, apart from his friendship and relationship with Mary may also be important. It is possible, that by not providing this information to the reader, Salinger is also suggesting that the Chief lives for the time he spends with the Comanches (and with Mary). If anything the Comanches allow the Chief to escape into a world whereby the realities of his life (no friends) can be avoided. Although it does appear at the end of the story that the Chief is unable to escape from the realities of the world when his relationship with Mary comes to an end.
Salinger also appears to be exploring the theme of innocence. By having the Chief kill off The Laughing Man at the end of the story it is possible that Salinger is suggesting that the narrator’s (and the other Comanches) innocence has also come to an end. No longer do they have a hero to love and follow now that the Chief has abruptly ended The Laughing Man’s life. It may also be a case that the Chief too, loses his innocence. His once happy relationship with Mary has come to an end and no longer does he see his (or the Laughing Man’s) world as being a happy place. If anything it would appear that for the first time in his life, the Chief is experiencing heartbreak.
Though it is not said in the story as to why the Chief’s relationship with Mary has come to an end, some critics have suggested that the end of the relationship has been caused by Mary becoming pregnant. This suggestion (by critics) appears to be based on the fact that while Mary is looking at the Comanches playing baseball, she sits between two nursemaids with baby carriages. Critics considering that Salinger, through the symbolism of the baby carriages, is suggesting that Mary is pregnant. If this is the case, that Mary is pregnant, the fact that the narrator appears to be unaware of this may also suggest his innocence when it comes to adult relationships. Though the narrator is aware that the Chief and Mary have had a fight, he never knows as to why they have fought.
The end of the story is also interesting. The narrator tells the reader that, as he was getting off the Comanche’s bus, ‘the first thing I chanced to see was a piece of red tissue paper flapping in the wind against the base of a lamppost. It looked like someone’s poppy-petal mask.’ This line may be important as it is possible that Salinger is suggesting that no longer does the narrator (or the other Comanches) have The Laughing Man’s mask to hide behind (having previously considered themselves to be successors to The Laughing Man) but rather they must now face the realities of the world, without the protection of The Laughing Man’s mask. Just as the Chief’s life has changed due to the end of his relationship with Mary, likewise the narrator’s (and the other Comanche’s) lives may have also changed.
I find the review very insightful and helpful for understanding the short story. I must admit, I really had a hard time understanding The Laughing Man without reading other references and analysis from other sources. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the comment LJ. I’m glad that you found the analysis helpful.
Thanks for the comment LJ. I’m glad that you found the analysis helpful.
Nice review, Dermot. I just got baffled by this story, it’s so brilliantly set up.
Interesting to see that you saw a breakup between the Chief and Mary in it, with possibly a pregnancy having caused this, while I interpreted only a pregnancy – and no breakup.
Yes, the last thing she does is run away from him, but considering the troubling situation of pregnancy I didn’t see this as a definitive breakup. I therefore interpreted the pregnancy as a definitive end of youth, of boyishness, from which the story is told.
Are there certain clues from which you interpret a breakup?
Hi Tom. I can’t say for certain that there is a breakup though that’s the feeling I got when I read the story. Neither the Chief or Mary spend much time together during the story so I made the assumption of a type of separation between both characters resulting in a breakup. There is also little or no communication (an argument) between the Chief and Mary so again I made the assumption of the possibility of a breakup. However as I mentioned I can’t say for certain that there is a breakup.
Hi Tom. I can’t say for certain that there is a breakup though that’s the feeling I got when I read the story. Neither the Chief or Mary spend much time together during the story so I made the assumption of a type of separation between both characters resulting in a breakup. There is also little or no communication (an argument) between the Chief and Mary so again I made the assumption of the possibility of a breakup. However as I mentioned I can’t say for certain that there is a breakup.
Excellent, concise analysis. This is my favorite short story of all time. I particularly appreciate your interpretation of the red tissue paper at the end, I had not thought of that. Thank you for writing this.
Thanks for the comment Doug. It is a great story.
I have always felt that “The Laughing Man” shines brightest in the all-too-brief Salinger canon. The nine-year-old narrator is a familiar device in Salinger’s work (i.e. the wise beyond the years
innocent with the wisdom of the ages). As a result, the heart wrenching portrait of the Chief and his relationship with Mary Hudson has such wonderfully understated pathos: “I remember
wishing the Chief had gloves” is a masterstroke of profound empathy. Thank you very much
for your analysis of this brilliant work
Thanks for that insight Craig.
I’m trying to fit together Mary’s pregnancy and the fight with the Chief. Why would they fight or break up if she is pregnant? Maybe she wanted kids and he didn’t? You would think if she was pregnant they would become closer (married even). I understand the end of innocence for the Chief. But I don’t understand the fight. Wouldn’t the baby bring them closer together? It seems like the pregnancy (if there is one) would make their relationship stronger.
I would agree with you Tony. However Mary might not feel as though the Chief is responsible enough.
Mary had an abortion. The red tissue is a metonomy of the discarded foetus, just as the baby carriages are metonymic of what they have lost.
Thanks for that insight Damien.
I love all the commentary offered above. The Chief clearly loved children. No doubt he would have wanted to have children of his own. I think Salinger left a couple of clues that Mary was pregnant from the start of her entrance into the story. The Chief was concerned about her playing ball and lifting a heavy bat. The Narrator couched it as boys vs girls, I think the Chief was worried about his and Mary’s baby. The other clue is Mary seeing the ‘dentist’ so frequently. Perhaps she was under the care of a doctor regarding her pregnancy. Mary seemed to want to know about the Chief’s world working with kids. Perhaps her own way of warming up to the idea. Something happened. Was it an abortion? Perhaps. Did she simply lose the baby? I think it’s more likely. The loss resulted in their breakup, and in the Chief leaving childhood and innocence behind as symbolized by the end of the Laughing Man. I also think the symbol of the red paper at the end is about death.
Thanks for that great insight Patrick. I have learnt a lot.
Thank you, Dermot, for providing a space to read insightful commentary!
I think Mary lost the baby and Chief got out of having to marry. The bloodshed was hers, not his.
Thanks for that Jill.
My impression was similar to much of the great commentary above, and I could likely be swayed in any of the (slightly) diverging directions regarding the pregnancy. Something I also felt, though, and don’t see mentioned anywhere yet, is this: could it be that Mary is already in a serious relationship or marriage, and that she and The Chief (John) are having an affair? Hear me out. There is the matter of Mary’s ‘clearly not really to the dentist’ visits (i.e. she’s told Someone that she’s at the dentist on these afternoons) and John’s visceral nervous reaction when she brings up the effort it took her to hook up with him that first afternoon. It’s similar to the excitement in the air as John, while working a paid job, waits for her to show up: the good-guy-doing-a-thrillingly-bad-thing mirrors the Laughing Man being a hero who is very empathetic yet all the while a criminal not above even “murder” from behind his mask.
Certainly these covert-seeming afternoon ‘dates’ are an odd way for two people without strings (one of whom has to travel far) to pass time. There is the fact of Dufarge being a detective (i.e. a figure on the just side) who may also represent a real-life character in John and Mary’s life: Mary’s husband. This would make the mask/red paper also symbolize the secrecy and self-contained world of their affair (later ripped open). Regarding Mary’s clear enjoyment of John and then sadness about what appears to be a pregnancy, a breakup, an abortion, or all three: in the case of an affair, (a) Mary has become pregnant either by her husband or by John and thus reality has set in, ending the affair, so (b) she’s either chosen to have an abortion to keep it secret (if John’s child) or will keep the child (if her husband’s), either way reluctantly leaving John. This is probably the least emotionally satisfying interpretation so far, but one that unifies many of the above ideas, that echoes the violent imagery and loss that John wraps up his story to the boys with, and that is, as I said, at least yet another angle to consider.
Thanks for that great insight Scott. You make points that are not only interesting but could be valid too.