Who Is JD Salinger's Teddy?

JD Salinger’s short story, “Teddy,” begins with the introduction of a ten year old boy, Teddy McArdle, who is clearly out of place in his room on a cruise ship with his parents whose views on the world seem to be completely opposite from the views of Teddy. Despite his young age, he is surprisingly philosophically-minded, unlike his parents, who are very materialistic. Teddy’s brilliant mind is introduced early in the story, but, because of his young age, his parents do not pay much attention to his scholarly ramblings. Instead, he is constantly pestered by his mother and father to take care of their possessions, as if they are the most important things in the world. In “Teddy,” by JD Salinger, the author portrays through a youthful protagonist
Teddy writes in his journal that “it” might happen today, but does not reveal what “it” is, and most of the story is spent without giving much away to interpret its meaning. While talking to Nicholson, Teddy references a Japanese poem, claiming, “Nothing in the voice of the cicada intimates how soon it will die” (Salinger 77). This is equally true for Teddy, as no part of his behavior indicates that he could be dead within the hour. After their conversation ends and Teddy departs for his swimming lesson, Nicholson seems to come to a realization and rises “abruptly” from his chair, following Teddy “quite rapidly” down the stairs, but fails to reach him before a scream erupts from the pool. Salinger uses these words to set the stage for a suspenseful climax, which he uses to convey the idea that, as claimed by Teddy, death of the body is unimportant, because he will have gained the spiritual knowledge he lived this life to learn, and it is now time to move on (Salinger 80). Teddy stresses throughout the story how unnecessary materialistic items are in life when knowledge gained be gained through education, a powerful message for someone of his