Buildup of Emotions and Lack of Communication: A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Sallinger

1318 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A Perfect Day For Bananafish

The human mind, only able to withstand so much pressure before losing control, is like a volcano. The harsh truths that accumulate throughout the course of one’s life can lead to devastation, the eruption of the mind’s volcano. American twentieth century author, J.D. Salinger, illustrates the devastating consequences caused by a buildup of emotions and a lack of communication in his short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Salinger “has become, in biographer Ian Hamilton's phrase, ‘famous for not wanting to be famous’ ” (Stevick). In this short story, Salinger details the interactions of the main character, Seymour Glass, with Sybil Carpenter, a young girl. Through these interactions, Salinger provides the reader with a glimpse into Seymour’s unstable, troubled mind. Seymour’s demise shows the importance of true communication and the expression of such emotions. By releasing societal pressures and not allowing oneself to be plagued by materialistic ideals, one can truly achieve a stable state of mind. Through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and motif, J.D. Salinger's short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” communicates the theme that effective communication is often a monumental struggle.
Salinger uses the sun as a symbol for the effects of materialism. If the sun represents the “burn” or impact of materialism on an individual, then Muriel, suffering from a painful sunburn, is engulfed by a materialistic world. Seymour, on the other hand, pale and guarded from the sun’s penetrating rays, exists sheltered and excluded from materialistic society, choosing to dwell on simpler, childlike pleasures. Muriel’s mother tells her daughter, “My goodness, he [Seymour] needs the sun. Can't you make him?" (Salinger 5). This insta...

... middle of paper ...

...7. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Moran, Daniel. "Critical Essay on 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish.'" Short Stories for Students. Ed. David A. Galens. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 2003.Literature Resource Center. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Overview: 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish.'" Short Stories for Students. Ed. David A. Galens. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Salinger, J. D. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Nine Stories. 3-9. Excerpt from Nine Stories. PDF file. http://materlakes.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2013/2/25/50973306/Nine_Stories_by_J_D__Salinger.pdf
Stevick, Philip. "J(erome) D(avid) Salinger." American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945: Second Series. Ed. Bobby Ellen Kimbel. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 102. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of A Catcher In the Rye's Holden Caulfield: Enemy of Himself

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print.

    Read More

  • A Summer Life by Gary Soto

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Back in 1990, a man named Gary Soto decided to write an autobiography about himself, titled A Summer Life. One of the more interesting portions of the book was when Mr. Soto described a summer day back when he was six years old. On that day, young Gary found out what it felt like to be a true sinner, as he stole an apple pie from the local bakery. Some readers found this as one of the more interesting parts, not because of the plot, but because of the literary devices used, such as detail, imagery, and pacing. The three aforementioned literary devices are almost a backbone to the story, because without those three, the story would be shortened and fairly bland. The following three paragraphs will each describe a literary devices used by Mr. Soto to enhance the quality of his story.

    Read More

  • Facing the Inevitable in An Act of Vengeance by Isabel Allende

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charters, A. (2011). The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (8th ed.). Boston: Bedfor/St. Martin's.

    Read More

  • The Catcher In The Rye: Crash Course Analysis

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although it is not a biography, it gives the reader an idea of who J. D. Salinger was and his ideas about writing. It is a scholarly article because it includes quotations from J. D. Salinger as well as factual evidence. It was also published by a reliable source, The New York Times.

    Read More

  • Searching for Innocence: A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    Salerno, Shane, dir. Salinger. American Masters. PBS, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Sallinger

    1551 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a World War II fighter and writer, Salinger lost his innocence in a way that we never will experience. Man...

    Read More

  • The Phony Theme of The Catcher In The Rye

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roemer, Danielle M. "The Personal Narrative and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye". Western Folklore 51 (1992): 5-10.

    Read More

  • JD Salinger Research Paper

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    J.D. Salinger recently pasted away at the age of 91. With his passing, several people speculate he left behind a treasure of completed novels and short stories involving their beloved characters. A person with a gift of writing that Salinger processed would not give up writing even though he stop publishing his stories. Salinger used writing as a way of expressing his ideas and feelings. Also he took his life experiences and inserted them into his stories making them entertaining for the readers but at at the same time provided a glimpse into what he experienced. Possibly with the discovery of new stories , Salinger's fans can get a greater understanding of his life because as he stated in a interview, “It's all in the books, all you have to do is read them.”

    Read More

  • Irony In Gary Soto's A Summer Life

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    American essayist Agnes Repplier once said, “Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding.” This is evident in Gary Soto’s young adult novel, A Summer Life. The book takes Gary Soto back to his childhood life in Fresno during the 1950s through a collection of his most memorable tales, pranks, and assorted adventures with his own special twist. As Gary Soto talks about the events in his childhood, he uses a variety of literary tools including irony and sensory details. In “A Summer Life,” Gary Soto uses many literary devices, including irony and sensory details to recall his childhood growing up in Fresno.

    Read More

  • A Perfect Day for Bananafish

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is set during post-World War II at a beach resort in Florida, U.S . To summarize, Seymour, a clearly disturbed war veteran, has taken his wife to the beach where the two had vacationed before the war. At the beach, Seymour meets and becomes fascinated with Sybil, a little girl who he enlists to help him search for a made up "bananafish". "Salinger appears to have an inherent understanding of dramatic technique, and he is able to integrate this into his writing of short stories" (Shurman). The story's structure is similar to the flow of a play with on-point dialogue and moments of rising intensity. Throughout the short story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", J.D. Salinger effectively develops the themes of loneliness, uncertainty and pain in a difficult situation by using symbolism, foreshadowing, and mood. As the story unfolds, ...

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye: Salinger's Autobiography

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    America during the 1940s and into the 1950s saw post-war prosperity, the introduction of household conveniences such the modern CPI and the washing machine, and an increase of enrollment into prep schools. Novelist J.D. Salinger uses his own experiences and the emotional impact they had as major influences on his work. Salinger’s life of solitude, military service in WWII and the childhood he spent as a prep school student is reflected directly through the actions and thoughts of Salinger’s most recognized character, Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye.

    Read More

  • Big Fish by Daniel Wallace

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wallace, Daniel. Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2012. N. pag. Print.

    Read More

  • In The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl by Ray Bradbury and The Tell

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl by Ray Bradbury and The Tell

    Read More

  • Quest For Love in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In the Rye

    2367 Words  | 5 Pages

    In many novels written by J.D. Salinger, there is a recurring theme of love that

    Read More

  • A Perfect Day for Bananafish

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moran, Daniel. "Critical Essay on 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish.'" Short Stories for Students. Ed.

    Read More

More about Buildup of Emotions and Lack of Communication: A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Sallinger

Open Document