A Perfect Day for a Bannanafish

Casey Foster
Period 2
Nine Stories Essay
A Perfect Day For A Bananafish:
In “A Perfect Day for a Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger, Seymour displays himself as a small, insecure child. He has no sense of how to live after fighting through World War II. He sees his peers as cruel and brutal, because of the insightful events he has witnessed during the war. Not only does Seymour dislike the adults that surround him, but also they do not show him love and support either. People like Muriel and her mother describe Seymour as mentally ill, or crazy. During their phone conversation in the hotel room, it is very easy to understand the opinions of the two women. While the two talk, Seymour is on the beach. He keeps to himself, staying at a distance from the rest of the hotel’s members. While sitting on the beach Seymour befriends a young girl named Sybil. He seems to be more comfortable with the child and even takes his robe off to go swimming. The sense of the communication between Sybil and Seymour is outstanding. Seymour opens up to the young child with no problem, but it is when Sybil leaves, and Seymour returns to the hotel, he feels hassled and decides to take his own life. Seymour’s suicide exhibits a lack of communication between himself and the mature world. Salinger shows that without a sense of compassion and understanding from others one can only survive for so long.
In the beginning of the story, Salinger portrays Muriel as a selfish, uncaring woman. She has no means of trying to communicate with Seymour and understand what is bothering him. All she desires is for her life to be flawless. Muriel only upkeeps herself and she doesn’t listen to anyone. This helps portray the theme of a lack of communication. For example throughout the phone call between Muriel and her mother, Muriel’s mother constantly declares, “Muriel. Now, listen to me” (6). This illustrates that the two are butting heads, trying to say what is on their mind. In another passage Muriel... [continues]

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