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Thoughts and Additional Information
After "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", "The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" is frequently regarded as being the finest of Salinger's unpublished works. These are both Caulfield stories; the date of authorship unknown due to their unpublished status. The second story in time to be narrated by Vincent Caulfield, it is actually the first of his stories as "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" is told later, as a reminiscence.
The absence of Vincent's younger brother Holden will undoubtedly come as a dissapointment to fans of The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is mentioned only once in the story and fails to make an appearance. This is a common circumstance in most of Salinger's Caulfield works. While penning these and other stories, Salinger was also working on his book. Therefore, as this story was being written, Salinger was in the process of developing his Holden character while saving Holden's depth for the more extensive novel.
This story is largely dialogue between Vincent and his mother. There is little in the way of physical events and no change of venue. In Salinger fashion, it also lacks a completely sympathetic character. While we understand Vincent's reaction to his mother's deed, he is overly harsh to her in his condemnation. Likewise, as Mary's character fosters sympathy for the loss of both her son Kenneth and the now-potential loss of her son Vincent, she is also portayed as being manipulative. There is also an inperception within Vincent that the reader finds perplexing. His mourning and guilt over Kenneth's death is somewhat self-centered and Mary is left to comfort her son with no one left to be of comfort to her.
The segment of this story which deals with Kenneth's death is not a long one. But it's content is important to this story and other stories that will follow. Vincent relates his dispair over not being the best for Kenneth on the day that he died. His words carry a heavy load of guilt. It is helpful to read "An Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" to understand the source of Vincent's guilt and the full meaning of his words. The reader also senses (and Vincent mentions) the manipulative manner in which Mary brings up the subject of Kenneth to her son at this moment. It is as if the subject of Kenneth were an ace up her sleeve that, while reluctant to use, she kept in reserve.
The small episode concerning Phoebe is also significant. Mary calls the innocence of little Phoebe to Vincent's attention as a supreme act of distraction. Mary seeks to soften Vincent's heart with the image of his little sister and draw the comparison between the joys and comforts of home and the dangers and hardships of war in one deft stroke. But Vincent, upon feeling the pang of love for Phoebe, turns away.
The story comes to climax in the last paragraph. Vincent, now introduced to a jumble of emotions, accuses his mother of a series of unwitting hypocrisies. Among them is the famous missing line regarding catching children as they crawl off of a cliff. As Vincent retires back to his room, he has near-second thoughts about his actions. This scene is reminiscent of one that Holden has in the later story "I'm Crazy". But unlike the scene with Holden, Vincent does not completely come to terms. In all of Salinger's stories in which he is present, Vincent never moves on from his pain.
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