The wife didn't seem as defensive as a normal, loving wife would be. I had the sense that she was with Seymour to just get away from her parents; that ole story. She was indifferent, like you said.
Discussion Group for January 30...........A Perfect Day For Bananafish by JD Salinger
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The whole exchange in the elevator was weird, too. He accused a woman of looking at his bare feet. Thoughts on this?
(Maybe the subtext of his "disrobing" and showing his "bare feet" was to exhibit his frustration over his inability to share his true self or the deeper things bothering him.)
(Maybe the subtext of his "disrobing" and showing his "bare feet" was to exhibit his frustration over his inability to share his true self or the deeper things bothering him.)
I think the elevator exchange was to show how quickly he could go off the rails (over nothing).
Yeah, that too. For sure.
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
This was a good short little story but I did not see anything sexual in his behaviour with the little girl. I thought he was funny, silly and seemed to care about Sybil.
Because of the previous talk about psychiatrists, his odd behaviour since coming home from the war, the mother-in-law's concerns etc. I was waiting for something awful or weird to happen.
Just glad he did nothing to harm the girl (I was worried when they started wading out further from the shore with the float), but instead chose to end it all. The fact he did it in his hotel room was a bit gory, but one way or the other someone was going to have to see him like that; (too bad his girlfriend had to wake up to that).
I liked the description of the bananafish
Because of the previous talk about psychiatrists, his odd behaviour since coming home from the war, the mother-in-law's concerns etc. I was waiting for something awful or weird to happen.
Just glad he did nothing to harm the girl (I was worried when they started wading out further from the shore with the float), but instead chose to end it all. The fact he did it in his hotel room was a bit gory, but one way or the other someone was going to have to see him like that; (too bad his girlfriend had to wake up to that).
I liked the description of the bananafish
I can not find a review but Encyclopedia.com states her age at 6 or 7 and goes to to say:
Seymour's kissing of Sybil's foot is a gesture of obeisance and a recognition of those qualities in Sybil not found in characters like Muriel, Muriel's mother, and the woman he meets in the elevator
Agree or disagree?
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
I agree that the kissing of Sybil's foot was just that - a gesture of showing how much he cherished her innocence.
Yeah, the gory mess she awoke to, seconds after the gunshot, must have been awful.
Oh, I certainly picked up on that, but I still felt uncomfortable with it. As I said, I can't shake the creepy factor of the whole beach scene.
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
Maybe it is because we know he is unbalanced and we're waiting for some strange behaviour or something sinister. It's a relief when the girl runs back to the hotel by herself
Do you have any ideas what the mother was referring to when she mentioned Seymour's driving? Do you think he was playing chicken? Weaving? Day dreaming? I don't think it specified but it appears it was alarming enough to cause concern for her daughter’s safety.
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
I think maybe he had gotten too close to some overhanging trees once while driving down the road, because after the Mom referred to his driving, her daughter replies that she asked him to stay close to the white line (or that he did stay close to the white line [something like that]) - that's what I got from that comment.
Yeah, definitely. Maybe it's just our age of paranoia but even when I worked in the library I was careful not to be alone with children or have them sit in my lap at storytime, etc., because of fear of accusations.Maybe it is because we know he is unbalanced and we're waiting for some strange behaviour or something sinister. It's a relief when the girl runs back to the hotel by herself
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
The world certainly has changed a lot since the 50s and 60s (maybe it's a good thing - keeps the perverts at bay) - I hope!
Maybe he wasn't used to roads, traffic. The ways of war driving might have been extremely different than county/ city driving.
....Doc, I tried.....couldn’t do it, not my type of cookie....no offense intended a’tall....just couldn’t keep my eyeballs on it....I’m a literary schmuck.....
LOL...no problem. I am going to try and choose a supernatural story next time. Even I don't always appreciate what is touted as "best of" stories these days. HollyGolightly chose one recently that I didn't care for because I'm not into sci-fi, although I like the author.
Sorry I am late, had company for supper tonight.
I agree with everyone who said it was odd/inappropriate for Seymore to be with the little girl, alone. But that may be me projecting feelings into the situation. It did stick out to me though. But other than the kiss on the foot, it did seem to be a sweet, innocent relationship. The girl looked up to him and he had become her playmate, somehow.
The ending, while I kind of expected it, still took me by surprise. I thought maybe the friendship with the little girl was going to snap him out of it, his depression or whatever he had going on.
This was the first thing by Salinger I have ever read.
I agree with everyone who said it was odd/inappropriate for Seymore to be with the little girl, alone. But that may be me projecting feelings into the situation. It did stick out to me though. But other than the kiss on the foot, it did seem to be a sweet, innocent relationship. The girl looked up to him and he had become her playmate, somehow.
The ending, while I kind of expected it, still took me by surprise. I thought maybe the friendship with the little girl was going to snap him out of it, his depression or whatever he had going on.
This was the first thing by Salinger I have ever read.