J. D. Salinger_ A Life - Kenneth Slawenski [96]
Originally entitled “The Killer in the Dinghy,” it is easy to imagine Salinger writing this piece while gazing at the nearby docks of Lake Geneva.5 Conveying insights provided by a child, it is reminiscent of the Caulfield series but its characters foreshadow future works through Boo Boo Tannenbaum and references to her brothers, Seymour and Buddy Glass.
“Down at the Dinghy” is divided into two acts and narrated in the third person. It is set at the lakeside summer home of Boo Boo Tannenbaum, her husband, and her four-year-old son, Lionel. Also in the house are their live-in maid, Sandra, and part-time cleaning woman, Mrs. Snell. Lionel is portrayed as an overly sensitive but perceptive child who habitually hides from the world when confused by conflict. Salinger connects Lionel’s attitude to his own childhood by having him wear a shirt emblazoned JEROME THE OSTRICH. On this day, Lionel has hidden in the hold of his father’s boat after overhearing something frightening. His mother has repeatedly gone down to the lake, attempting to retrieve her son and discover what has upset him.
In the Tannenbaums’ kitchen, Sandra is pacing and nervous, repeatedly telling Mrs. Snell that she’s “not gonna worry about it.” Their conversation seems cryptic but when Sandra sneers that Lionel is “gonna have a nose just like the father,” Salinger hints that she has blurted out an ethnic slur against the family.6
Upon the dock, Boo Boo makes another attempt to coax Lionel from the dinghy. But Lionel is defiant. From within the hold of the boat, he angrily throws a pair of goggles into the lake. When Boo Boo calmly explains that the goggles belonged to her brother Webb and had once belonged to her brother Seymour, Lionel selfishly answers, “I don’t care.” Rather than react to her son’s rebellion, Boo Boo offers Lionel a gift of keys, a clear counterpart to the goggles he has thrown into the water—but not before ensuring that Lionel realizes that he has hurt her. She threatens to toss the keys into the lake as Lionel did the goggles. When he protests, Boo Boo mimics his retort of “I don’t care.”
Salinger tells us that Lionel then looked at his mother with “perfect perception.” This moment is the climax of the story, the point at which its pieces tumble into place. At that instant, Lionel realizes that he has hurt his mother. He suddenly understands that he has stepped upon a tangible connection that Boo Boo held with her brothers, Webb and Seymour. Lionel wants the gift of keys but is aware that he no longer deserves it. When his mother gives them to him regardless, he realizes that her love is unconditional. It is a level of purity that transcends circumstances and allows Lionel to trust as completely as Boo Boo loves. As an act of penitence, Lionel throws the keys into the lake. In doing so, he creates an equilibrium through a seemingly small sacrifice that actually allows him to connect once more with his mother. He then accepts Boo Boo into the dinghy. As their loves combine, both mother and son derive strength from each other they did not possess before. When Lionel reveals that he overheard Sandra call his father “a big-sloppy-kike,” Boo Boo’s reaction is tempered by the power of that love. Instead of viewing Sandra’s insult as a personal affront, she considers the remark as it affects Lionel. She explains to her son that Sandra’s comment “isn’t the worst that could happen.”
Lionel only instinctively perceives that Sandra has said something bad. He does not understand the epithet she used and confuses “kike” with “kite.” But the issue of discrimination is one that Lionel will be forced to confront during his lifetime, and Boo Boo does not protect him from that confrontation. Instead, she offers a collective support. In doing so, she herself learns some measure of acceptance, the ability to rise above a challenging insult. Boo Boo and Lionel’s combined love creates strength greater than Sandra’s attitude of blind contempt.
Through his mother, Lionel gains a crucial insight. He begins to understand the value of interaction