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The short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” written by J. D. Salinger, depicts how Salinger views World War ll, reflecting it in his story through the eyes of main the character Seymour Glass. The story highlights Seymour’s attitude and behavior after being affected by the war, which showcases his suppression and anxiety towards society through the psychoanalytic lens. The theme of isolation is prevalent throughout the story and Salinger achieves this through the effective use of language.
To begin with, the short story by Salinger examines how the traumatic experiences of the main character impact the way in which he acts in the present. Seymour Glass is a soldier who fought in the Second World War, and his experiences from the past have driven him to isolate himself from an emotionally detached society. Seymour and his wife, Muriel, are on vacation in Florida but the reader can see how Seymour spends most of his time alone while his wife tries to enjoy her time. While on the phone with her mother, Muriel explains how Seymour spends his time in, “the Ocean Room, playing the piano. He’s played the piano both nights that we’ve been here” (3 Salinger). Seymour’s need to isolate himself from the rest of society, suggests his lack of connection to the people around him, which makes him want to be alone. Seymour would rather be alone than spend his time with people who only care about relationships on a surface level (meaningless and shallow relationships), thus leading to the deterioration of his mental state ultimately leaving him feeling suicidal. Furthermore, the author examines how Seymour isolates himself from the rest of society, but he still deeply craves some semblance of the meaning of connection. During his interaction with Sybil he wishes to have a ‘real’ conversation and he says, “‘Sybil,’ he said, ‘you’re looking fine. It’s good to see you. Tell me about yourself” (7 Salinger). Regardless of the fact that Sybil is just a child, Seymour still wishes to speak to her in a meaningful way, and it is evident to the readers that due to the lack of depth in his relationship with his wife, he is so isolated that he craves for something ‘real’ with anyone whom he is in contact with. Therefore, Salinger has gone through times when he does not want to socialize with people, where he just wants to isolate himself from the world. But as time progresses, he still shows some connections to society and wants to talk to someone and anyone who he can reach out to.
Adding on, the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, also incorporates the theme of isolation, similarly to Salinger, when interpreted through the psychoanalytic lens. Firstly, Prince Prospero and the surrounding kingdoms are dealing with a fatal, horrible disease the Red Death, raising concern for Prince Prospero and his empire. To resolve this issue Prince builds, “A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron” (Poe) around his castle. The whole idea of constructing this wall is to protect himself and his favorite knights and ladies from the fatal disease Red Death, which has already killed off half of the kingdom. As a result, he ends up isolating himself from his kingdom and the external world. People inside the castle are not allowed to leave or enter the castle, which forces individuals to cut ties with their other family members and friends who are living in the neighboring kingdoms. Furthermore, Prince throws a party where he provides his favorites with all essential needs and luxuries. Prince provides them with, “…. buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the ‘Red Death.’” (Poe). Even though Prince builds a wall around his castle, he is still able to provide luxury to his members and fulfill their needs and desires. But Prince lacks the connection with his kingdom and the external world which causes them to feel sick and fear the Red Death. Even though the Prince has isolated himself, he and his favorites continue to be afraid of the spread of the Red Death, believing that it will kill all of them sooner or later. Therefore, people, despite not physically being ill, still suffer psychologically, from the horror of the Red Death, despite being isolated, proving how isolation can cause people to go insane, as they feel unsafe and believe they can no longer seek help from other people. This also connects to Salinger’s story as Seymour feels he is alienated from the ‘normal’ society that does not understand his mental condition.
Furthermore, the short story “The Looking Glass” by Anton Chekhov, showcases how Nellie isolates herself from the real world, where she ends up finding the love of her life in her perfect husband. First and foremost, Nellie’s primary priority is to take care of her husband. Nellie’s dream starts with, “… one was for Nellie everything, the significance of life, personal happiness, career, fate. Outside him, as on the grey background of the looking-glass, all was dark, empty, meaningless” (Chekhov). Nellie makes herself believe that her life only revolves around her husband and that anything beyond him is meaningless to her. She isolates herself just to take care of her husband, and he becomes the focus of her life. This changes Nellie’s behavior and all she cares now is about her husband, completely isolating herself from her real family and friends. Furthermore, Nellie seeks happiness only through the marriage she upholds in her dream. When Nellie first looks, “…. seeing before her a handsome, gently smiling face, she was conscious of bliss, of an unutterably sweet dream that could not be expressed in speech or on paper.”(Chekhov). Nellie is depending on a man to achieve happiness in her life. When she dreams about the perfect husband she wants, she is obsessed with him and she leaves everything behind her just to be with this man. Nellie also excludes other people from her life just to be with her husband. Therefore, Nellie’s desire of having a perfect husband leads to her isolation, as she does not want to leave him alone, and fears losing him. Thus, a presence of fear leads to Nellie’s isolation from the world on both a psychological and physical level.
Finally, isolation is defined as something being ‘placed apart or alone.’ However, there are different types of isolation that capture the imagination of writers and artists. Isolation is something the majority of individuals deal with these days. A person may isolate themselves based on their individual opinions or because of their present situation. My personal connection to this is that in grade nine I saw one of my classmates sitting alone for a couple of days, and she never responded back to anyone in the class. So, the following day one of my friends explained to me about her having social anxiety and how she feels rejected from the world. I tried to talk to her but could not get anything out of her mouth. After 2 years I saw her at school again, she was talking to a group of people. So, I decided to go talk to her, she was polite and looked innocent. I asked how she was doing, and she told me how she went to therapy for her social anxiety and got better. Later she tells me how awful and unpleasurable experience it was to isolate herself from society. In her therapy, she learns how everyone is not the same and not everyone judges you or negatively evaluates you. She has now completely reinforced herself and feels comfortable engaging with others. Even though she had a rough start due to her isolating herself from society, she has completely overcome this hurdle and is enjoying the company of her new friends.
To conclude, in my opinion, isolation has a significantly negative impact on people’s character, which further impacts the lives of other people who are attached to them through a ‘butterfly effect’ of negativity and anxiety. Understanding one’s attachment to society through a psychoanalytic lens enables one to recognize their identity and better their relations with those around one. All in all, in the short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger, depicts the theme of isolation and how Seymour Glass is going through a rough time and wants to be isolated from society. Through becoming more educated on this topic I have become more comfortable and learned the importance of isolation and how it impacts one’s behavior. Personally, my own understanding of isolation continues to evolve as I learn to recognize and think critically about the issue.
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