Subject: (urth) Harry S Truman

From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 23:13:43 +0000

David Duffy wrote:
> > In fact, it seems more than just plausible that Smoky's middle initial
> > doesn't stand for anything--remember that he wears "A Suit of
> > Truman's" to be married in and that the 'S' in Harry S. Truman is
> > without further signification.  I think that's the solution to
> > the middle initial mystery.
> >
> Truman's name is actually written Harry S Truman -- not having the book here,
> what is the exact punctuation?

If you're asking about the punctuation of Smoky's legal name, he does
put a period after the S.

Truman's name, on the other hand, appears as "Harry Truman," no S at all
("A Suit of Truman's," I, 4, p. 59 of Bantam TPB), although the S
appears in the suit's monogram.  Come to think of it, it strikes me as
very unusual to refer to Truman as "Harry Truman"; either "Truman" or
"Harry S Truman" are far more common.  It's as if Crowley is emphasizing
the "S" by omission.

Okay, so who's going to do the article on "The Letter 'S' in John
Crowley's _Little, Big_"?

--Adam

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