Re: bananas and such
Lagusta Pauline Yearwood (ly001f@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
Mon, 17 Nov 1997 15:22:06 -0500 (EST)
On Mon, 17 Nov 1997, Susan.E.Pearson-1 wrote:
> 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?
i think this is one of the niftiest interpretations i've ever heard. it
makes a lot of sense. i've always thought that salinger's protagonists
were so sad sometimes because they had this adoration for and almost
obsession with the little details of life (ie, the glass family medicine
cabinet) that others didn't. they see and love everything. well, at
least seymour and the more zen-influenced people do. holden i'm not so
sure about. it's the whole "see more" thing, they see so much more deeply
than so many others, and it wears them down.
lagusta