A Perfect Day For Bananafish By J. D. Salinger
Perfect Day for a Melancholy Death French poet, Comte de Lautreamont, once said, “Melancholy and sadness are the start of doubt... doubt is the beginning of despair; despair is the cruel beginning of the differing degrees of wickedness” (BrainyQuote). “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, begins as World War II ends, when Seymour Glass returns from the war, he marries Muriel, a vain and self-absorbed woman. While on a vacation/honeymoon in Florida, Seymour slowly begins to unravel. Having gone to war an “innocent” and returned in deep despair because of his participation in combat. J.D. Salinger was born New Year’s Day, 1919 in New York City. Son of Solomon Salinger, a wealthy businessman, and Miriam Salinger. The Salinger’s were living “The American Dream”, coming from nothing to living on Park Avenue in New York City. Coming from a wealthy family, Salinger was sent to some of the most elite private …show more content…
The ‘bananafish’ symbolize the hatred in Seymour’s life, a hatred that has taken his innocence. Seymour states, “They’re very ordinary looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I’ve known some bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as seventy-eight bananas” (Salinger). Bananafish are greedy much like the countries who supported the war. Countries who wanted to rule the world with no dare for the cruelty and destruction suffered by so many, including Seymour Glass. According to the article “A Perfect Day for Bananafish Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed”, “...bananafish gorge themselves until they are too fat to escape the holes, thereby sealing their doom. Likewise, Seymour is a victim of gluttony” (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed”). Seymour, a victim of war, was put on the front lines, a place of murder and combat. The ‘bananafish’ were used to symbolize Seymour and the various people around
Maturation Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye
126 Words | 1 PagesThe Catcher in the Rye, Jerome D. Salinger’s one and only full novel, was written in 1951. Since then, it has sold more than 65 million copies and translated into most of the world’s major languages. This book tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old who can’t seem to be able to stay at one school and despises the “phoniness” of adult-life. One day, he must grow up, but Salinger is there to lead him throughout the book. Salinger uses symbolism to convey a maturation theme in his work.
The Catcher In The Rye Depression Analysis
623 Words | 3 PagesSalinger does a good job of keeping the book and the issues of being a struggling, depressed teen light and humorous. What would be different if Salinger didn’t use so much humor to help make light of Holden’s situation? Holden was depressed the whole entire novel. Women kept rejecting him, nobody respects him, people take advantage of him, his best friend is his sister, and his crush is someone who he wants to talk to all the time but won’t because of the fear of rejection. He also gets really depressed when he sees something sad.
Creative Writing: Mr. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
871 Words | 4 PagesMy dreams for my family and I have been shattered. My life has become dulled. The day Mr.Truman Capote came to interview me about the murder overwhelms me with the numbing feeling of February wind. I was likely shuffling to my house trying to avoid frost from biting my skin
William Golding Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis
901 Words | 4 PagesThe conch represents society and order. However, when “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 260), it signifies the destruction of their society and civilized manners. It indicates the demise of their civilized instincts and exposes their animalistic instincts. Without law and order, the boys can only gradually become more brutal. Soon after the destruction of the conch, Jack “viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph” (Golding 261).
Catcher In The Rye Text Analysis
2272 Words | 10 PagesText Analysis Practicum Course Instructor: Dr. Lorelei Caraman Dimişcă Bianca-Melania Russian - English Childhood vs. adulthood in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” “The Catcher in the Rye” is a novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. The book is one of the most controversial books ever written and its popularity comes from the author’s rough attitude towards society from the perspective of a teenager. “The Catcher in the Rye” is thought to be J.D. Salinger’s masterpiece and it is listed as one of the best novels of the 20th century. In 2009 Finlo Rohrer affirmed that even 58 years later after the book has been published it is still considerate “the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye)
Franny: Deviating From The Salinger Norm
369 Words | 2 PagesThere is something very distinctive about Salinger’s style that I always find just a little too ineffable to make any sense of describing to anyone who has not read him. Of course, no writer’s style is completely consistent, and I chose this passage to examine for the semester because it is both heavily Salinger and completely deviating from the Salinger norm. What I found seemed to explain what felt so different about this excerpt; much of the text of Franny and Zooey is dialogue that repeats itself regularly while this was almost exclusively clear-cut description that moved at a rapid fire pace and spared little room for subjective details. I kept finding a clinical, chronological order to what was almost a list of events through all the
Essay On Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies
969 Words | 4 PagesLastly, “A stick sharpened at both ends,” conveyed to the children the danger of each other and Roger, the wielder of the stick, used this symbol of destruction to lead them on a hunt to kill the protagonist Ralph. The symbols with the greatest influence and power were mostly derived from a negative connotation. William Golding used both power and symbolism to create an Allegory novel that gives insight on how they have a deadly end result. The washed up Conch and Sow’s head had many differences, the most simplistic being that the head was evil, containing fear, while the Conch wielded order and civility. The plot of this novel shifts around power and what the result is of having it fall into the wrong hands.
Holden Caulfield Disillusionment
142 Words | 1 PagesThe postwar setting in J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye influenced the main character Holden Caulfield feelings of disillusionment during a time when conformity left many postwar adults fearing communism in a growing postwar economy. The novel illustrates the main characters’ experiences from the time he is expelled from boarding school over a period of three days. Upon his premature departure from the school, due to a fight with his roommate, Holden makes his way to New York City, where he meets various people in hopes of gaining a form of acceptance and understanding from them to help his troubles (Kirkwood 29). As a result, his needs are deprived, as Holden feels he does not fit anywhere; believing that all the people around him are
Examples Of Sympathy In Catcher In The Rye
934 Words | 4 PagesThese moments illustrate his foremost value which is his longing for a better society. Through Holden’s sympathy for Ackley, Sunny the prostitute, and the nuns, J.D. Salinger symbolizes
Getting Coffee Is Hard To Do By Stanley Fish
125 Words | 1 PagesIn "Getting Coffee is Hard to Do" by Stanley Fish (August 5, 2007), the author asserts that by shifting the burden of labor to the consumer, businesses are frustrating their customers. Fish supports this thesis by describing the frustrating process of getting coffee in today's coffee shops. The purpose of the essay is to ridicule the "coordination problems" faced by customers in coffee shops in order to get the reader to appreciate the frustrations consumers experience. Fish's intended audience is fellow coffee consumers, and he provokes thought in these consumers about how the practices of businesses are changing; another intended audience is coffee shop owners and employees, whom he encourages to have empathy toward the customer and do more
Rhetorical Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye
1733 Words | 7 PagesThe tone of The Catcher in the Rye is cynical. Throughout the novel, Holden adamantly refuses to see anything but the worst in all but a few people. He repeatedly attempts to separate himself from the rest of the world, criticizing others’ faults while ignoring his own. Holden condemns his classmates for being crooks, his teachers for not understanding the struggles of being a teenager, and the wealthy for believing money can buy happiness. Regardless of who he interacts with, Holden always sees them as frauds.
Catcher In The Rye Holden's Death Analysis
636 Words | 3 PagesJ.D Salinger, in the novel The Catcher in the Rye demonstrates how Holden is affected by the tragic death of his brother Allie. Allie’s death is the root of Holden’s depression and negative choices. The first literary device J.D Salinger utilizes is Holden Caulfield's character. Allie's death at a young age may have resulted in Holden not wanting to grow up himself.
Jd Salinger Biography Essay
662 Words | 3 PagesOn January 1, 1919, J.D. Salinger was born in New York. His full name is Jerome David Salinger. J.D.'s father was Sol, a Jewish man whose father was a rabbi and ran a successful business. His mother was Miriam, who was from Scotland and was not Jewish like her husband. During this time, mixed marriages were not normal and were frowned upon, so they kept Miriam's background a secret.
Is Man Inherently Evil In Lord Of The Flies
658 Words | 3 PagesGolding portrays mans evil through the boys' need to undermine others. In the beginning of the book Jack becomes obsessed with hunting the wild pigs that live on the island. “Jack was bent double. He was down like a sprinter, his nose only a few inches from the humid earth … Then dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort,
Symbolism In A Perfect Day For Bananafish
1966 Words | 8 Pages“The Bananafish may also be symbolic of Seymour himself, who (like many young men) was lured into the “banana hole” of war and figuratively consumed so many years of the war’s horrors that he is now unable to come out of the hole and reintegrate himself into the world of non-combatants” (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish”). Its proposed that, like the Bananafish, Seymour has glutted himself with the horrors of the war and can no longer get himself out of the “banana hole” he is stuck in. Seymour describes a Bananafish as a “very ordinary-looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I 've known some Bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as seventy-eight bananas” (Salinger).
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