A Perfect Day for Bananafish | Seymour's Suicide Again: A New Reading of J. D. Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
In the following essay excerpt, Lane finds the framework of ''A Perfect Day for Bananafish'' and the key to Seymour's suicide in Rilke's Duino Elegies.
The Suicide of Seymour Glass in ''A Perfect Day for Bananafish’’ has troubled readers and critics alike; despite the considerable attention paid it, its meaning has remained uncomfortably uncertain. Seymour, it is sometimes suggested, ‘‘unable to tolerate the everyday sensations of his tiresome, postwar life,’’ has simply ‘‘lost his mind.’’ This theory, however, emphasizes unduly the Seymour we hear about from other characters—the kind and gentle man we actually meet on the beach seems eccentric but eminently sane—and fails to explain convincingly, among other...
[The entire page is 2081 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Related Topics
Tell a friend about A Perfect Day for Bananafish at eNotes.
