A Perfect Day For Bananafish Analysis

J.D. Salinger’s short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” shows the harmful effects of materialism on society and individuals. Married couple Muriel and Seymour Glass are vacationing in Florida in 1947 while Seymour suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Seymour’s perspective on life his different from Muriel’s perspective because of his time in the military. The story begins with a conversation between Muriel and her mother that shows their shallow nature, which is representative of society. Sybil Carpenter is integral in making Seymour realize the extent to which greed and shallowness pervade their society and how it even affects the most innocent members of society. His realization becomes an overwhelming burden in his mind
Salinger characterizes Muriel as being a superficial young woman with her facing looking “as if her phone had been ringing continually ever since she had reached puberty” (Salinger 1). Salinger implies that Muriel has been popular since she was a teenager as a result of her attractiveness and likeability. Muriel and her mother talk on the phone and Muriel’s mother expresses her concern for Muriel but Muriel interrupts, “Mother, darling, don’t yell at me. I can hear you beautifully” (2). While “darling” is normally used by an older person talking to a younger person, Muriel calls her mother this to demean her. She sees herself as having no superior and doesn’t respect her mother. Muriel continues speaking to her mother on the phone and asks, “You remember that book he [Seymour] sent me from Germany… What’d I do with it?” (4). This exemplifies Muriel’s obsession with material goods because the book has Rainer Marie Rike’s poems, which revolve around beauty and suffering from a non-religious point of view. Muriel’s decision to ignore Seymour’s gift shows her infatuation with meaningless desires blinds her. She can not open her mind to beliefs that challenge her own. Muriel’s misplacement of her husband’s gift, which he sent to her while he fighting in the war, shows how little she cares for what Seymour considers important. By losing the book, Muriel shows how she neither
As Muriel dispassionately discusses seeking psychiatric help for Seymour, her mother wonders, “Well. How’s your blue coat… How are the clothes this year?” (11). Instead of trying to find legitimate solutions to help Seymour during this desperate time, Muriel and her mother cannot control their obsession with worldly possessions. Salinger also uses the color blue as a symbol of innocence and purity towards society’s ills. Muriel responds to her mother’s inquiry, “I had some of the padding taken out” (11). By taking the padding out of her coat, Muriel prioritizes her need to look smaller over the need to stay warm. Manipulating the blue coat symbolizes Muriel’s predilection with her image and how her desire to look pretty even corrupts the blue color of innocence. After they finish talking about fashion Muriel’s mother asks Muriel where Seymour is. When Muriel states he’s on the beach her mother asks, “On the beach? By himself? Does he behave himself...” (5). Seymour’s mother