Perfect Day for a Bananafish,
Perfect Day for a Bananafish,The images of war remain imbedded in an individual's mind, making it difficult for anyone who has faced the horrors of war to reassimilate themselves within society. People who have never faced the horrible images lack the understanding and compassion needed for a war veteran to reestablish themselves. The alienation an individual suffers from family and friends thrusts them further into a world of confusion, forcing them to take drastic actions to find peace. The effects of war have the capacity to undermine the belief system that a person once lived by, cuasing them to question every aspect of their life. J.D. Salinger eloquently places the reader into the life of Seymour Glass at a time when he is struggling to find peace in his life after returning home from World War II, in the short story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Seymour's struggle emanates from the psychological effects of the war, alienation from society, lack of compassion and understanding from his peers, and the lack of innocence he finds in the materialistic post-war society he returns home to.
Seymour Glass is a veteran of World War II, who is caught in a tangled emotional web. The horrors of the war have left him reeling from post traumatic stress disorder. Once a strong, spiritual man who thrived on innocence and tradionional Jewish values, Seymour returns to a materialistc post-war society that does not understand the emotional trauma of a veteran. He finds himself in an emotional whirlwind of which he cannot escape. The Holocaust defied every sense of reason that Seymour had, and he now questions his beliefs and values. He is confused by all of the horrible experiences he faced in Germany, and is unable to reconnect with anything that he used to cherish and find comfort in.
Seymour is married to a typical Jewish American Princess named Muriel, who is more concerned with her own materialistic needs than those of the man she married. He once found her so simple and innocent, yet she has become a shallow, self-absorbed woman who completely lacks understanding and compassion. Muriel and Seymour venture to Florida for a second honeymoon upon his return from Germany. The post-war psychological effects Seymour suffers become apparent during a telephone conversation between Muriel and her mother. They discuss Seymour and his habits with complete lack of understanding or compassion for the state of confusion caused by the horrible images and experiences of World War II. Muriel dismisses the odd behavior of her husband and shows no concern for his inablility to reconnect with society. Seymour tried to reach our to muriel while in Germany, by sending her a book of poems that he treasured. However, Muriel regards that poems are just words on paper not worth her trouble when she speaks with her mother, saying, "He said that the poems happen to be written...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.