Bananafish Essays (713 words) - A Perfect Day For Bananafish

Bananafish Just why did Seymour kill himself 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 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 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. A Perfect Day for Bananafish attempts to symbolize that the bananas in See More Glass's story represent all of the things which are taken in along the journey to adulthood. If pursued with too much zeal, these bananas can prevent spiritual development 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 resemble the childlike feet that he desires to have, and the woman in the elevator's scorn towards Seymour's accusing her of staring at his feet, drive him to dislike the adult world even more. He is the bananafish who cannot escape the hole and achieve the spiritualism and childlike characteristics that he so desires. In his opinion, he believes that this suicide will give him the chance that he wants and needs: to start all over again. The anti-materialism of the story must also has to be considered in talking about the suicide. Salinger, perhaps still a little reluctant in 1948 to abandon his own anti-materialism that appears to me to be an early preoccupation of his, in favor of simple materialism and anti-spiritualism, leaves much of the former scattered throughout the story. Seymour's 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 different factors coming into play. The interpretation of Seymour obtained from the story is that he is troubled by his own spiritual shortcomings (the result of too much intellectual treasure) as much as by the shortcomings of the people and the world around him. These factors ultimately lead to

Sense vs. Sensibility

Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about the words in a Jane Austen title: You may already have discussed sense and sensibility, but if not, could you program an entry. I am not sure if Jane Austens word meant something particular to that time. Is there a distinction to meanings between/among sensibility, sensitivity and sensitiveness, and add in sense too? Sense has twenty-nine numbered definitions in the OED, several of them with subsections. Sensibility has seven numbered definitions, four of them with subsections. I shall confine the remarks in this post chiefly to the words as Austen used them in the title of her 1811 novel. The word sense occurs dozens of times in the novel, with various connotations, including these: sense of honor sense of merit in one’s right senses sense enough to call for help As used in Austen’s title, sense refers to what modern speakers still mean by â€Å"common sense†: â€Å"combined tact and readiness in dealing with the everyday affairs of life; general wisdom.† The novel focuses on the love life of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor represents the Sense of the title. Even when her heart is breaking, she maintains a polite faà §ade of courtesy and tact, reasoning that what can’t be helped is not to be agonized over. Marianne represents the Sensibility of the title, what modern speakers might call sensitivity, or even hypersensitivity. When Marianne suffers emotional anguish, everyone knows about it. Austen sets up the differences between the sisters in her description of the way they deal with the death of their father. Elinor feels the same grief as her mother and sister, but, unlike them, she is able to govern her feelings and attend to practical matters. Marianne and their mother, on the other hand, wallow helplessly in their sorrow and refuse to be comforted: Mariannes abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinors. She was†¦clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent. The resemblance between her and her mother was strikingly great. Elinor saw, with concern, the excess of her sister’s sensibility; but by Mrs. Dashwood it was valued and cherished. They [Marianne and her mother] encouraged each other now in the violence of their affliction. The agony of grief which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought for, was created again and again. They gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every reflection that could afford it, and resolved against ever admitting consolation in future. Sensibility in the sense of the quality of being easily and strongly affected by emotional influences was still a fairly new usage in Austen’s day, giving the title a certain up-to-date catchiness. The plural, sensibilities, is current in modern usage to mean â€Å"feelings as to what is appropriate or decent†: The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.- The Hays Motion Picture Production Code, 1930. And while the boundaries have clearly been pushed way back, movies continue to emerge which challenge our notions of what is acceptable, depicting acts of sex and violence in increasingly graphic style and often offending the sensibilities of the prudish and conservative.- Recent blog post about 21st century films. Related post: Sense and Nonsense Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of HumorBetween vs. In BetweenPresent Participle as Adjective