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A perfect day for bananafish 3 page essay
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A perfect day for bananafish 3 page essay
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Characters in A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger
The characters in Salinger?s ?A Perfect Day for Bananafish? seem to exist in opposite worlds. On one hand, Salinger creates Muriel to represent materialism and superficiality and on the other hand, he creates Sybil to provide justification of the child-like innocence rarely found in society. Salinger?s main character, Seymour, is aware of the superficiality expressed in Muriel?s world and chooses not to be apart of it. Seymour wants to be a part of the simple immaterial world that Sybil represents. Nevertheless, Seymour find himself trapped between two worlds unable to regain the one he desires. Therefore, Salinger bases ?A Perfect Day for Bananafish? on Seymour?s disillusionment with life and his inability to regain a child-like perception of the world. Salinger?s portrayals Seymour and his world are described below.
Sybil is composed of all the characteristics Seymour is seeking. She is young, innocent and childlike and therefore not polluted by the materialism, mistrust and snobbery known to society. Furthermore, her actions suggest that she relates to Seymour because he seems to act like a child somewhat similar to herself (for example Sybil feels secure around Seymour but feels insecure when sitting with her own mother). This would imply that Seymour does not appear abnormal to her because she, unlike most, she has the ability to see through his exterior and is not intimidated by what she has found. In the later part of the story she continually repeats the phase ?see more glass?(10) using the term ?glass? to describe her own unique ability to see through the transparency of superficial people (much like her own mother).
What Seymour respects...
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...g that was originally molded to portray the image society would expect of a ?Lady? of her caliber. In turn, it does not seem to matter who Muriel is in Salingers?s story but what she represents.
In conclusion, Seymour is similar to the bananafish as he swam his way up the stream of life ingesting the materialism and superficiality that past him on his journey. Half way up the stream he stopped pondered why he had even bothered in the first place. Now he cannot go back down the stream (to Sybil) against the current and cannot bear to continue (with Muriel). At this point Seymour is described as having ?banana fever? or becoming so engulfed in materialism. His only rational option would be to stay in the banana hole and die.
Work Cited
Salinger, J.D. Nine Stories: A Perfect Day for Bananafish. United States: Little, Brown and Company Limited, 1991.
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
After many years of ideas coming and going, one that seems to stay the same is the thoughts of tennagers. In the book The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D Salinger many can still relate to Holden’s story even after a 76 year difference. While exploring the city around him Holden takes the time to try to find himself on a deeper level and try to grasp how growing up really makes him feel. Given the fact that everyone is unique in among themselves the need for self satisfaction is always current meaning many run from the true responsibilities that come with age.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
The first way J.D. Salinger shows that Holden’s depression is not only affecting him, but also the people around him, is...
This book is a good book. "What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse. ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 1
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
J. D. Salinger's notable and esteemed novel, Catcher in the Rye, reflects the hypercritical views of a troubled teenager, Holden Caulfield, towards everyone around him and society itself. This character has a distinguished vision of a world where morality, principles, intelligence, purity, and naivety should override money, sex, and power, but clearly in the world he inhabits these qualities have been exiled. Holder desperately clings to and regards innocence as one of the most important virtues a person can have. However, he son becomes a misfit since society is corrupted and he yearns for companionship, any kind of connection with another to feel whole and understood again. Ironically, despite his persistent belittling and denouncing of others, he does not apply the same critical and harsh views on himself.
Salinger uses specific motifs and symbols to illustrate Holden’s naive and unrealistic view of the world. A great example of this is when he believes he can be the catcher in the rye. By doing so he imagines he is able to maintain all the innocence within society. Holden
Salerno, Shane, dir. Salinger. American Masters. PBS, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. .
Salinger presents the epitome of a young person who is scared to grow up. Salinger utilizes the theme of resistance to grow up to build an obstinate bildungsroman to tell Holden’s story. Holden’s persistence with the ducks in the lagoon show his undying curiosity and youthfulness. His aspiration to be the catcher in the rye present his need to save others from the destruction of innocence. Finally, his love for the unchanging Museum of Natural History show his love for stability. All three symbols work together to form a theme of defiance during Holden’s coming of
J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye depicts a short span in the life of a
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
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.
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” revolves around the main character, Seymour Glass and his wife as they vacation in Florida just after World War II in 1948. It is soon revealed that Seymour Glass is suspected to have mental illness after his return from the war, leaving his wife, Muriel, and all the people around him in danger. A materialistic wife with little regard for Seymour’s mental health, Muriel displays a sizable lack of interest for the people around her. The reader is left in sus...