The Sense Of Death In J. D. Salinger's 'Nine Stories'

In J.D. Salinger’s “Nine Stories”, there are two stories that indicate a death, and, remarkably, these two short stories are what begin and end this captivating piece of literature. The first story is called “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and introduces a man who has been through the hell of World War II, which allows him to see things from a different perspective. The latter is called “Teddy” and revolves around a young, ingenious boy that seems to have a speculative mindset and very deep insight into life. In both stories the reader is introduced to a “genius”, but the geniuses, with all the potentials at hand, end up going mad and killing themselves. However, this proves to be Salinger’s point. It demonstrates a fine line that separates the kind of vision or mindset one could identify as genius from the kind of madness that can lead to a spontaneous suicide.

Seymour Glass is the main character in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and is also the one who concocts the story of the bananafish as seen in the passage above. He is telling this story to Sybil, a four-year-old little girl who interacts with Seymour on the beach. She and her mother are staying in the same hotel as Seymour and, his wife, Muriel. Right away we see he is an imaginative fellow that is making up a story to please this little girl. At first this is just a simple story to pass the time, but then as soon as Seymour takes his own life, it is revealed that its much more complex than that.

The beginning of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” starts of with . Right from the get go we find the story introducing the fatally consumerist American. The story goes onto describe a girl wearing a Saks blouse reading a pocket-sized magazine called “Sex is Fun-or Hell”. Here, it...

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...senger on the ship about the fact that if he fractured his skull in the pool and died, it would not be tragic at all. He would simply be doing what he was supposed to do. Both these events support the supposed death.

The death of the two characters in the beginning and concluding stories outlines the point Salinger is trying to make. Seymour concocts a wild story about a bananafish that looks deep into the human condition and Teddy meditates on the very reality of life itself. These two characters possess a strong and perceptive mind, replicate of one of a “genius” yet they end their lives. Salinger has his characters commit suicide in order to contrast the genius with the madness it sometimes ensues. He explores the fragility of human life and establishes a fine line that separates the mindset of a genius from the possible madness that can develop within a person.