Joyce and Salinger:
A Study of Their References to Buddhism
Eishiro Ito
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Abstract
This paper intends to compare James Joyce with J. D. Salinger focusing on their references to Oriental religions, particularly Buddhism in their works.
Needless to say, James Joyce was a European writer and J. D. Salinger was an American writer. They never met each other and there was almost no direct relationship in which one influenced the other. However, the two writers had Irish Catholic connections while they were familiar with Judaism. Both felt a sense of not belonging to the church (or synagogue) and approached (Zen) Buddhism and Hinduism. They did not regard Buddhism as a religion: Joyce thought it as “a suave philosophy” to avoid wars and conflicts, and Salinger found a similarity between the act of writing and Zen practice on the quest for enlightenment. In short, Salinger tried to describe “the sound of one-hand clapping” or the sudden enlightenment in Zen [Chan] Buddhism, or in Joyce’s term, the moment of “epiphany.” Asian readers should attempt to analyze English literature from various Asian perspectives. Then we will find a significance of studying English literature in East Asia, and will be able to contribute to develop it glocally. Keywords: James Joyce, J. D. Salinger, Buddhism, Christianity, Ireland, Theosophy |
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full version is available in James Joyce Journal Vol. 21, No. 2. (The James Joyce Society of Korea), Winter 2015, 117-36. Copyright 2015
Eishiro Ito
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