The Empty Shell of Seymour 

I love how J.D. Salinger portrays the theme of the search for innocence within the story of “A Perfect Day for a Bananafish” by using the main character Seymour. In the short story, Seymour Glass serves as an example of the concept of the search for innocence. JD believes that traumatic experiences can take away someone’s purity or innocence; Seymour is the perfect example of that, being a former soldier and having participated in WW2, as he witnessed many atrocities in the war and tons of deaths. Also, Seymour is a representation of J.D. Salinger because J.D. Salinger was a soldier during World War II. Is he trying to use the story as a way to communicate his experiences in the war?

 

      Let us explore how the plot is the backbone or foundation of this theme. First, let’s talk about the plot. The plot of the story takes place in the post-World War II aftermath. A married woman named Muriel is with her husband on a vacation. Her husband has been acting very strangely ever since he returned from the war. The author uses this plot to lay down the theme: as of right now in the story, Seymour uneasily straddles the line between the realm of adult sexuality and the innocence of childhood. The author shows that Seymour is struggling and dislikes this new society.So he avoids his wife, who is a materialistic person, and goes outside to play around with kids. psychologically distressed and with psychological scarring from his wartime experiences. The reason why Seymour plays with children is because they provide a safe haven for him. The author, J.D. Salinger, portrays the post-World War II world they live in, a world devoid of adult sorrow and greed; however, the children are innocent and uncomplicated. The war has made Seymour out of place in this new society. Now he’s trying to find his purity or innocence. 

 

Seymour’s character is a huge factor in the theme. Here’s how, despite the fact that Seymour’s hanging out with kids such as Sybil is his call for help motivated by his need to return to his innocence, the audience would find it difficult to overlook these shocking events. Seymour’s activities seem innocent and even childish at first. He allows a kid named Sharon to sit next to him on the piano bench, giving the impression that they are both young children trying to hide from the adults in the room. He also plays with Sybil and speaks to her in a silly and childish way. However, Seymour also takes off his clothes in front of Sybil, something he won’t do in front of Muriel, his wife. Although her mother is away, he is a lone adult guy playing with a child who is not his own, caressing her physically as he hoists her onto a raft. He also tells the violent story of the bananafish and the banana fever. Seymour’s attempts to attain a sort of fresh innocence eventually render his comments meaningless, and nothing comes of this conversation. Sybil kisses Seymour, which is a concerning moment in the story, and when he goes back to his hotel, he has a violent outburst in the elevator and commits suicide with a handgun. Seymour tries to pursue the goal of finding innocence.

There is no conventional plot structure in J. D. Salinger’s short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” The author uses a technique where both scenes are going at the same time, and this story is structured by multiple scenes, which are broken up into several pieces. In the two key moments of the short story, it is when Seymour is on the beach with Sybil and Muriel is on a phone call with her mother. The structure is important because the two biggest scenes are in stark contrast with each other. As both scenes play out this shows how because of the trauma of war, Seymour is not able to fit in  this new materialistic society.  Seymour and his wife are two completely different people, as shown. Seymour tries to connect with his wife by sending her a German poem, but she doesn’t really look into it. She is blinded by her materialistic views to see the real problem as her husband is trying to find himself, trying to fit within this new society and find his innocence, hence why he spends time with kids. As a result of the modern structure of this narrative, readers are left to guess Seymour’s inner battle brought on by the tragedy of WWII and his struggles on trying to find his place in this new materialistic and greedy society. This is the storyline of the short story. 

JD Salinger uses both Seymour and Sybil as very important symbols in the story. Sybil seems to be a ladder or a road for him to find his innocence; the author made her see herself as innocence itself. 

But Seymour is a representation of J.D. Salinger. JD Salinger was a former World War II soldier returning home. Maybe he felt like this, and this was a way to express how he felt about postwar society. Biography.com Editors.  “J.D. Salinger Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/jd-salinger. His career had started to take off, but then, like so many young American men around this time, World War II interrupted his life. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Salinger was drafted into the army, serving from 1942–44. His short military career saw him land at Utah Beach in France during the Normandy Invasion and be a part of the action at the Battle of the Bulge. This showed JD Salinger had credibility and was in major battles within WW2, seeing many atrocities and deaths of soldiers. 

In Decuers, Larry. “WWII Post Traumatic Stress: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, The National World War II Museum, 26 June 2020, “For many veterans, the symptoms of combat fatigue or combat stress faded once they returned home.” For others, the symptoms were long-lasting and function-impairing. Combat stress can morph into posttraumatic stress, which begins to appear in the affected individual after the traumatic experiences have passed. J.D. Salinger was using Seymour as a way to express how he felt about the war and after it. Seymour is a mirror image of himself. Sybil is represented as innocent because Seymour is trying to find his innocence. 

The third-person narrator of “Bananafish” is visible if you merely read the text. The narrator knows nothing about these folks other than what he observes, so he might as well be a fly on the wall narrating the tale. The fact that Seymour recently returned from the war is never explicitly stated by the narrator; instead, he simply sees Muriel and her mother discussing it. The narrator is able to give the audience information about the characters without even saying it. Seymour and Muriel are referred to in the narration as “the young man” and “the young woman,” respectively. This author uses this interesting technique to give the readers a chance to find the theme. 

 

Nonetheless, the social scenery is detailed pretty thoroughly as it examines numerous facets of American society. First off, from the point of view of Muriel, her mother, and Mrs. Carpenter, the novel examines the materialistic society that is taking place in this book. It seems that Muriel only cares about appearances. She spends her time caring for her appearance and her wardrobe while also describing to her mother how other visitors to Florida, particularly hotel guests like the psychiatrist and his wife, dress. Muriel shows how superficial she is by labeling everyone in this group as having poor fashion sense. This shows how both Muriel and her mother are very similar people. Even though they prefer to wear designer clothing and buy expensive stuff, Muriel and her parents are both worried about their finances. While Muriel talks about the cost of the long-distance call, the parents put off fixing their car since it is expensive. Mrs. Carpenter is quick to discard her daughter Sybil in favor of a martini, demonstrating her preoccupation for outward looks and financial possessions.

The reason why this story is so important is because it is something that many people can relate to. that they feel out of place within this society, and it’s so evil that they lose their innocence. I can relate because the majority of the time I feel out of place, especially in this new society. But also this story is important because we get a better understanding of JD Salinger as Seymour is a mirror of him. We see him use literature to express all his emotions.

Work Cited 

Biography.com Editors. “J.D. Salinger Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/jd-salinger. 

In Decuers, Larry. “WWII Post Traumatic Stress: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, The National World War II Museum, 26 June 2020,