A Perfect Day For Bananafish by J.D. Salinger

"I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll see if we can catch a bananafish" (Salinger 7). A bananafish is a fictional creature created in the mind of Seymour Glass, a character in J.D Salinger's "A Perfect Day For Bananafish." They are much like any other fish but they swim into holes where bananas grow, and eat so many bananas that they cannot escape. "A Perfect Day For Bananafish" was published in 1948 in the New York Magazine ("A Perfect Day For Bananafish"). The story is set on the sunny beaches of Florida, soon after WWII in 1948, expressed when Muriel, another character in this short story says, "He calls me Miss Spiritual Tramp of 1948" (Salinger 4). The year of 1948 is significant because at the time of publishing, Salinger had just arrived from the war.

J. D. Salinger is a well celebrated American writer famous for his novel The Catcher In The Rye and short stories compiled in Nine Stories. Born and raised in Manhattan, James David Salinger was drafted into the intelligence field of the military for WWII. Salinger was reported to have been traumatized by his experiences in an intelligence corps. According to his fellow service men, Salinger was always writing and was even caught in a picture, writing on a desk they found on the side of a road. Salinger is known for his magnificent writing and is still taught today by teachers all of over the country for his use of symbolism, irony, and more. In the short story, "A Perfect Day For Bananafish", Salinger supports the theme of the importance of communication through the use of symbolism, and imagery.

To begin with, in "A Perfect Day For Bananafish," the author uses symbolism such as Seymour's war souvenirs to support the theme of communication. Salinger expresses the importance of ...

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...y when he states, “‘If you want to look at my feet, say so,’ said the young man. ‘But don't be a God-damned sneak about it.’...‘I have two normal feet and I can't see the slightest God-damned reason why anybody should stare at them’” (Salinger 9).

To conclude, in "A Perfect Day For Bananafish", the author supports the theme that communication is important through the use of symbolism, and imagery. Hemingway uses the symbols of Sybil’s bathing suit, Seymour’s war souvenirs, and the story of the bananafish to support the importance of communication. Also to support this theme, he uses imagery in Seymour’s bathrobe and feet.

Works Cited

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Short Stories for Students. Ed. David A. Galens. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 233-254. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.

Salinger, James David. A Perfect Day For Bananafish. PDF file.