Teddy as a Christ Figure

A detailed Summary of Teddy as a Christ Figure

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 ship's porthole, he says "'It's interesting that I know about them being there. If I hadn't seen them, then I wouldn't know they were there, and if I didn't know they were there, I wouldn't 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 Teddy's sagacity comes fr

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.

Probably the most important parallel between Jesus and Teddy concerns their respective deaths. Both knew exactly when and where their deaths would take place. Neither went to his death in fear of what was to come. Teddy was actually anxious to get to his swimming lesson where he knew his sister would

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Approximate Word count = 620
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Teddy as a Christ Figure

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