Thursday, September 3, 2015

Bananafish Questions

1. When Seymour is telling Sybil what bananafish are, he says, "They’re very ordinary-looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I’ve known some bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as seventy-eight bananas…after they’re so fat they can’t get out of the hole again. Can’t fit through the door…They die…they get banana fever. It’s a horrible disease.” Is it possible that Seymour could be talking about himself and his comrades when he went into the war, and then had PTSD? Does this have anything to with why he kills himself?

2. For what reason does J.D. Salinger have for including Sybil and Sharon (the little girls) in this short story? Why does J.D. Salinger have Seymour tell Sybil of bananafish? Do children have any significance in this story?

3. Why does Seymour get upset when he thinks the woman is looking at his feet?

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