A Perfect Day for Bananafish
Picture walking into a hotel room and finding a man dead on a bed. Upon closer inspection it becomes obvious that he has supposedly taken his own life with the gun that lay beside him. In talking to his wife who was asleep on the bed next to him when this incident occurred, it is learned that he just walked in the door and shot himself late the previous night. Out of the many questions that could be asked from this story, I believe that it is probably extremely important to consider why the main character, Seymour Glass, decided to commit suicide. What I believe to be the reason for Seymour's suicide has two basic components: the spiritual depravity of the world around him, and his struggle with his own spiritual shortcomings. The spiritual problem of the outside world is mostly a matter of material greed, especially in the west, and materialism. On the other hand, his own spiritual problem is more a matter of intellectual greed and true spiritualism. In addressing the suicide, the difference should be distinguished between the "See More Glass" that we see through l
"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" attempts to symbolize that the bananas in wife, Muriel's name both looks and sounds like the word "material". This could possibly symbolize that she, like her mother, is shallow, fashion-conscious, and unwilling to learn German in order to read delicate, world-weary poets like Rilke. Destroying Seymour even more is Sybil's reference to the greedy tigers in "Little Black Sambo" and her connection to Eliot's "Wasteland". This suggests that even this youthful girl has begun to develop a problem with material fixation and spiritual neglect. These strains of anti-materialism in the story complicate the suicide because they suggest that Seymour is opting out of a world that is too materially inclined for him, instead of one in which he himself is responsible for his own unhappiness and spiritual depravity. Both sets of circumstances, Seymour's own intellectual greed along with the general material greed by which he is sure, truly contribute to his suicide. The reasons for Seymour's suicide are thus proven to be muddled in "Bananafish," with several dif
Some common words found in the essay are:
Day Bananafish, Eliot's Wasteland, Seymour Glass, , Seymour Sybil's, own spiritual, Black Sambo, seymour glass, own spiritual shortcomings, intellectual greed, seymour's suicide, material greed, adult world, anti-materialism story, spiritual depravity, spiritual shortcomings,
Approximate Word count = 736
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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