bananas and such
Susan.E.Pearson-1 (susanp@ou.edu)
Mon, 17 Nov 1997 11:56:36 -0600
Hello all,
I went out of town for the weekend and found so much great e-mail from
you guys today. Thanks for keeping Monday mornings interesting.
I am intrigued by the "why did Seymour commit suicide?" question because
I was recently dating a guy and he once read "A Perfect Day for
Bananafish" to me in bed (now isn't that romantic?) and afterwards he
asked "Why?" This story really hit a nerve with both of us (even though
I had read it many times before) because we both have siblings that have
committed suicide. It was four a.m. and I had some sort of MOMENT OF
CLARITY and said "too many bananas." By that I mean, Seymour (like
Honden, Buddy, Franny, etc.) have a true love and apprectiation for
things that other people don't notice. Our hero, Seymour, was
hyper-senstive and had lots of bananas. The girl he played with in the
ocean was one, along with Muriel and Charlotte. I can even think of
images where they are wearing pale yellow (the girl's swimsuit, a yellow
stain on his hand from a dress).He ingested everything and it weighed
him down. He was a bananafish and that is why he couldn't live anymore.
It is all there in the title, in the name we give this group, for god's
sake. Anyone agree with me? Any other bananafish out there?
Susan