A Literary Analysis of Teddy by J. D. Salinger Essay

In "Teddy" by J. D. Salinger, Teddy is illustrated as a Christ figure. Many aspects of his life are similar to those of Jesus. Salinger created in Teddy a mirror-image of the real Christ.From a very young age, Teddy displays a profound understanding of the universe and life itself, exhibited by his deep conclusions about everyday life. For example, when he is watching the floating orange peels out of the ships porthole, he says "Its interesting that I know about them being there. If I hadnt seen them, then I wouldnt know they were there, and if I didnt know they were there, I wouldnt be able to say that they even exist." (171) This is not the revelation of a ten-year old boy, just as Jesus proverbs seemed improbable when one considered his age and the level of wisdom that he should have had. The only major difference is that supposedly Jesus great wisdom came from God, whereas Teddys sagacity comes from living many previous lives.Both are very religious. Jesus, obviously, because he is the Son of God, loves the Father, worships him, and spreads his word. Teddy is also very religious, not only in loving God, but also in his belief in the Vedantic theory of reincarnation. Everything about Teddy disturbed normal people, even, to some extent, his parents. Just as people stared when Jesus walked by (because of the strange aura of aged enlightenment around him), Teddy is met with stares when he walks about the ship. Also, everything that both Jesus and Teddy say is met with some degree of skepticism and disbelief, because it seems so unrealistic.Both Jesus and Teddy use analogies or parables to get their points across. Jesus used parables to teach his followers lessons and morals. In the story, Teddy uses a sort of analogy to display a lesson he is trying to teach Nicholson. Teddy points to Nicholsons arm, asking what it is. Nicholson replies that...

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