Talk:The Laughing Man (short story)

message: I've created this article, but I have to admit I'm not entirely happy with it. In particular, I don't know how far to go with the summary. My primary motivation in making this article was to provide a sort of Cliff's Notes for people who had heard the story referenced in some other text (like the anime series) and wanted to quickly know what it was about. If I summarize too much the article becomes wordy and derivative, but not enough and it's simply unclear and fails in its purpose. So I'm really not sure where I fell here.
The analysis, in the same vein, is mostly there just to give passerby a sense of what the story is supposed to be about and why it's important. Wikipedia is not a venue for literary analysis, and I don't want to go on too much about it, but at the same time I think it's worthwhile for someone clicking over here from the disambig to at least know why the story gets cited a lot. I'd be okay with seeing the analysis cut down or even tossed, if that seems better.
The full text of TLM is available on the web (a quick Google will find it for you) but I'm not sure about the ethics of adding an external link to such a clear copyright violation. Out of deference to Mr. Salinger I decided not to add that link to this article myself.
Collabi 11:27, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

message: currently, the third paragraph under literary significance and criticism seems very poorly written.  all the sentences seem very awkward, particularly "Notice how all the boys were certain they were direct descendants of the laughing man. Holding on to every last word that they were told of him."
i don't think they really belong in an encyclopedia. i don't know how to fix that but if someone does, that would be pretty cool!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.74.35.194 (talk) 20:30, 13 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  really just a bad paragraph. 

message: There's very little to be said about the significance of the story outside of other works that reference it. On top of that, there is no criticism cited. Instead, the reader is treated to an analysis that reads like the final paragraph of a hurried English 100 essay.
Please, please, don't state opinion as fact. 
"Others view the laughing man as an idea, rather than a person. The story of the laughing man told of a criminal that was viewed as a hero, not some vigilante as most are used to hearing about. It's Salinger's thinking that it's ideas, not people, that change the world. People create ideas, but just by killing the person who created the idea, doesn't mean that you've killed the idea. Notice how all the boys were certain they were direct descendants of the laughing man. Holding on to every last word that they were told of him. They were holding onto an idea. Ideas change the world. Ideas can't die, this is reason that the laughing man was shot 4 times, 2 through the heart, and still lived. He was an idea, someone that the common people, the poor, and the refugees looked up to (all of the animals in the story). Though the laughing man did end up dying in the end of the story, notice how it was the laughing man's choice to die. He could have kept living had he chosen to, but he could see how his actions hurt those that were close to him, and for thus he gave up his life."
This is a subjective analysis. Unless there's an article somewhere, an interview with Salinger, that directly addresses the ambiguous points of his work, this is nothing but speculation.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.53.188.25 (talk) 12:14, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Literary significance and criticism" is actually "Analysis and Opinion." 

message: I thought the end when Mary Hudson had the sad conversation was that she possibly miscarried.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.193.228.246 (talk) 07:56, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  carrage ending 

message: --Sushitrap (talk) 00:39, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: There was no relationship to the children, but a reference, in Episode 11.  The 'Chief' referred to is not Aramaki.  Aoi, The child in the wheelchair turned into 'Chief', or what they referred to as 'him making an appearance' to tell ongoing stories.  Also, there were further references in Episode 20, so the cultural reference is correct.  I also modified the link to reference the series 1 and not the film.  See List of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex episodes. Nostep (talk) 04:55, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cultural references