A Perfect Day for Bananafish by David Salinger

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The story revolves around Seymour, who had just come from war and is on vacation with his wife. He has posttraumatic stress disorder and this is of concern even to the wife’s parents. In the end he commits suicide. The story has a weak ending as the main character dies. As it unfolds, it is the expectation of the reader that Seymour will probably settle down with his wife, Muriel, given that he had been away from the family for sometime.

According to her, he was not as bad as the parents were thinking. While talking to Sybil, the young girl, about bananafish, she brings out the innocence that exists in simplicity and naivety. It is expected that Seymour will view the world with such simplicity as opposed to the thoughts of war and other misfortunes that most adults undergo. On the contrary he opts to commit suicide.

The story might have had a different degree of closure if a different expectation was used, especially if it is suspected that Seymour might commit suicide or turn violent owing to the depression due to the war. Moriel’s parents are also concerned about her whereabouts, given that she was on vacation with a war veteran who might probably hurt her, given that he was emotionally unstable as a result of the war. The reader might therefore expect that something bad is meant to happen to Seymour. That is what happens when Seymour commits suicide. If it were in this light, then the story might be perceived as having a strong ending.

The author has used the third person narration style. The narrator gives the story from the observations made and through listening to the characters’ conversations. Muriel, for instance, is referred to as the young lady while Seymour is referred to as the young man. The third person narration style and dialogue have been used to help the reader determine what led to the emotional breakdown and the suicide of Seymour. Through the dialogue between Moriel and her mother, it is evident that Seymour was emotionally unstable after coming back from war.

The parents are concerned that Seymour’s emotional instability might lead him to harm her. The narration also helps in highlighting Seymour’s state of mind and it is quite evident that he despises materialism that is rampant. The story of the bananafish, is a metaphor to the materialism that had crept into the society and people did anything to satisfy their greed. The Banana fish feeds on a lot of bananas until they become too fat to go through the exit holes through which they came in. This is compared with the human greed where people do anything to gain material wealth.

By use of the third person narrative style, the writer proves to be observant and gets the reader to different scenes and the thoughts of the characters, hence bringing out the real picture of the society and circumstances under which Seymour committed suicide. Through the dialogue between Moriel and her mother, it is evident that they live in a materialistic society.

Through narration, the writer brings out Moriel as a materialistic character who lives an extravagant live. For instance, she reads a magazine entitled “Sex Is Fun-or Hell.” She also likes going to the beach and partying. Through the dialogue between Seymour and Sybil, the writer gets the reader to Seymour’s mind and it is clear that Seymour despises materialism and greed exhibited by most people.

There are various characters in the story that have been presented either as flat or round characters. Seymour Glass, for instance, is one of the main characters developed as a round character. He exhibits a complex personality throughout the story. At the beginning he is presented as calm, quiet and a withdrawn character that is harmless and yearns for simplicity and innocence.

He excludes himself from social gatherings and would rather be alone on the beach or chat with a child. This is in contrast to the violent and dangerous character that is presented by Moriel and her mother through the telephone conversation. Moriel’s parents, for instance, fear for there daughters safety as they perceive him as emotionally unstable. He also exhibits his violent character when he quarrels with a woman in the elevator who was allegedly looking at his feet and stocking him. He ends up killing himself due to the fact that he cannot reconcile with reality.

The other main character in the story is Moriel Glass who is Seymour’s wife. She is presented as a flat character that is trendy and materialistic. She likes fashion, partying and lives an extravagant lifestyle, where she goes to the beach for fun, goes to expensive saloons and reads explicit magazines. She does not mind going on vacation with Seymour in spite of his emotional instability and caution from the parents. She makes little effort to assist her husband to restore his mental stability and he ends up committing suicide.

Another flat character in the story is Sybil Carpenter, a young and innocent girl that chats with Seymour. She is free with Seymour and seems to get to his mind and heart. She has however learnt to accept the world around her unlike Seymour.

Moriel’s mother is another flat character who exhibits no complexity. Her character does not change. She is a concerned and caring parent who does anything to ensure the safety of her child. She is very uneasy when she realized that her daughter had gone to a vacation with a depressed man. She tries to convince her to return home. The two main characters in the story are Moriel Glass and her husband Seymour.

The story is a fictional short story that has dramatic conflict highlighting the plight of a war veteran who returns to his country only to meet a materialistic world. He is opposed to this even though his own wife is materialistic too. He secludes himself and commits suicide presumably due to the fact that he cannot reconcile with the reality. He exhibits signs of depression as he had been suicidal on various occasions. The story reaches the climax and ends in suspense after Seymour committing suicide. The reader is left guessing about the cause of his suicide.

The story has an organized narrative structure with one event leading to the other. It starts with the initial situation, where Moriel and Seymour are on vacation. Moriel receives a call from the mother who seems worried about her being on vacation with a depressed man. A conflict is then developed as Seymour seems to detest the materialism in the society. There is also conflict between Moriel and her parents. They are opposed to the idea of her being on vacation with a depressed husband as they feel he might to harm her.

She however disagrees with their opinion as she perceives him as harmless. Another conflict emerges when Seymour is upset by the person he meets in the elevator whom he accuses of staring at his feet. All these culminate into his inability to reconcile with reality and he ends up shooting himself. It then leads to suspense as the reader is left wondering what really pushed him to commit suicide.

The metaphor of the bananafish is used to allude to the human greed which leads to self destruction. Like the banana fish which eats lots of bananas and catches banana fever which leads to their death, humans also tend to overindulge in materialism and greed which leads to self destruction. The story is structured in such a way that it has constituent events that lead one to the other.

Symbolism has been used in this story. The metaphor of the bananafish, symbolizes the greed exhibited by those who do anything to satisfy their cravings but end up being ruined. Just like the banana fish which feeds on too much fish and dies in the process, so does people in their quest to satisfy their materialistic cravings.

Seymour, in the quest for innocence and simplicity, sees that the only way out was to kill himself so as to attain peace of mind. Sybil on the other hand symbolizes innocence and that is why Seymour finds solace in talking to her and he seems to admire her innocence and naivety. Moriel’s lifestyle symbolizes the materialism that characterizes most people. She reads explicit magazine, loves to go partying, going to expensive resorts, vacation and goes to expensive saloons as well as put on trendy clothes. She is less concerned about her husbands state provided she gets what she wants.

The best audiences for this book are young people who are consumed with the urge to fulfill their inner satisfaction through materialism. Through this story, they realize that materialism is not the solution to the deeper cravings but satisfaction is found in simplicity and innocence. Because he cannot attain such inner peace, Seymour commits suicide. He could afford most of the worldly pleasures but could reconcile with the reality (Salinger 1).

Works Cited

Salinger, David. A Perfect Day for Bananafish. New York: Paw Prints, 2008. Print.

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A Perfect Day for Bananafish by David Salinger

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