Thursday, December 29, 2011

In "A Perfect Day for a Bananafish," does Seymour's name symbolize that we should "see more" in him than what the mother and daughter see? Should...

It can be noted that Sybil Carpenter is the only one who is able to "see more" in Seymour Glass. Seymour's distinct issues should be apparent to the everyday world; however, it takes the eyes and understanding of a child to show the readers who Seymour actually is. He seems to have stunted and reverted psychosexual development after being released from the military hospital, and thus we can only "see" him through the eyes of Murial and Murial's mother -- who are actually quite shallow and materialsitic. Seymour is trapped in his own perception of reality, as he seems to "see more" than the other characters as well -- such as his "tattoo." While the superficial characters scoff at him because he does not have an apparent tattoo, we as readers can understand that this is clearly Seymour's way of demonstrating the marking that has been left behind. Such as the story of the bananafish, foreshadowing the demise of Seymour. While most adults would disregard the story as a lewd, and perhaps grotesque fairy tale about overconsumption, Sybil, the only one able to "see more" "sees" a bananafish indulging in six bananas. This vilifies Seymour, thus further emphasizing the tragedy of the story--that he will forever be trapped inside a child's mental existence in a grown man's body.

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