Bananafish

A detailed Summary of 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 "

around him. These factors ultimately lead to his suicide.

same character in different stages of development. Whatever the case may be, the "reasons" for the suicide shift slightly in emphasis as the character changes.

and lead to a greater materialistic development. See-More has realized that he cannot get rid of enough bananas to make any further spiritual progress in this life, so, rather than waste time, he commits suicide. This is slightly obvious when he is taking the elevator back up to his room on the night of the suicide. His fixation upon his feet, which do not

See More Glass" that we see through little Sybil's eyes, and the Seymour Glass that we see through the eyes of the adult world. Even though these two characters are in theory the same man, they are slightly different in some ways. You could also say that they are the

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

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, spiritual shortcomings, seymour's suicide, anti-materialism story, intellectual greed, material greed, spiritual depravity, adult world,

Approximate Word count = 740
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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