Re: a few more (humble) points
Brendan McKennedy (suburbantourist@hotmail.com)
Fri, 16 Jan 1998 00:01:27 -0800 (PST)
_APDFB_ is discussed, and the reason for Seymour's suicide
>is that he is so stuffed with sensations (bananas) that he is trapped
in a
>hole and can no longer swim in society.
I agree with that until the word "society". Just now in another post, I
went on for
years about it. I think Seymour was so stuffed with bananas
that he couldn't live in the World anymore--meaning world in
a very large sense.
I do love the word "Sensations" in place of "bananas", though.
I think that about captures it.
He also
>comments on the title, though I would rather hear what everyone here
has to
>say. Why is it a perfect day for bananafish?
>
Textually, it is an allusion to Seymour telling Cybill, "It's a
perfect day for bananafish." As to what that text Means, it's
my opinion that Seymour was telling her, or perhaps himself,
that today was the day to die. Much like Teddy writing to
himself in his journal on another sunny day by the sea that today was
his day to die.
On the other hand, reading "bananas" as sensations, perhaps
Seymour was simply telling Cybill that it was a perfect day,
that he loved the world, everything in it. And if he realized
somewhere between the beach and the hotel room that this
perfect day for sensations was very contrary to his Dharma,
it might explain his pissy mood in the elevator, and also
why he chose just then to kill himself.
Of course, I always get the feeling that he'd already planned the
suicide to a tee, just from the nonchalant way with which Salinger tells
us that he took that gun from the bag.
Brendan
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