Nine Stories

 A Perfect Day For Bananafish Response

The path leading to experience is unavoidable, and living is the singular thing that separates one from the state of innocence the accompanies childhood, because as one grows older they are exposed to different aspects of life, and some are good while others are scarring, and haunt people forever. The short story,"A Perfect Day for Banana Fish," tells no matter how hard one may try, it is impossible to return to innocence after they have had a taste of the world.

Exposure is one of the main purposes behind the format in which people are raised. We are taught values that we should hold, and slowly introduced to some of the hardships and joys that growing older brings, so with this being said, some of the most deciding factors of life occur in this period of time. While the first few years of school are thought to be a fun, carefree learning environment, a harsh reality sets in. Prior to being sent of to kindergarten, a child does not know how to react to being insulted and bullied, for parents and relatives are really the majority of the contact a child has with others, and parents and relatives are perpetually loving and understanding. Because of this care that a child receives at home, they do not no know how to cope with being bullied, and insulted at school, so when one comes into a public on-your-own environment they believe that everyone is as understanding as their parents, but in every class there is a kid who strives to establish dominance among the group, and sees intimidation as the only way to achieve this. The more innocent child would become severely upset when the bully starts verbally abusing him etc, and because of this new exposure view the world differently. After a child is first bullied, there is no returning to the state of innocence, because one cannot simply forget, for they start thinking about how other people would do the same thing, so one becomes more self-conscious as the years go on, and the topics about which people are bullied is increased, nor is the numbers of bullies decreased, so we become more aware and watchful because of this experience.

The aforementioned experience is similar to the metaphorical meaning of the bananfish in the short story. In the story Seymour Glass tells of how the bananafish goes into the hole looking for bananas, and finds many so it eats until it is too fat to escape from the hole. Symbolically this is talking about the experiences we have in life that affect us permanently, because like the bananafish goes into the hole, we go somewhere or experience a feeling that makes us change our vision of life and humanity, and we can't shake the experience so we live with it forever affecting us which in the metaphor is when the bananafish can't escape the hole.

Therefore in the short story, Seymour Glass is the bananafish, and this is J.D. Sullinger's way of questioning if there is going back to innocence. Because in the book, Glass goes off to war and if injured in some way, or permanetely scarred, for the sheer violence of war is so shocking, and  it affects Glass' mental health etc. Therefore when Glass goes on the beach and begins to talk to Sybil, a young girl, he is enthralled by her state of innocence which is what he was in before the war, and before he witnessed horrible acts of violence. By accompanying her for at least a little while he believes he can return, or at least experience the innocence he had prior to the war, but even this does not wash the stain that the war left on him, because our experiences leave such a heavy influence on us and how we act, so even acting like a child could never make us forget our experiences,  for they shape who we are.

Throughout life one gradually becomes more self-aware and learns how the world works through experience. However these experiences can truly burn us to the core, and question the nature of our existence. Even though we may try valiantly to forget our hardships and pain, it cannot make us lose the influence that life imposes on us, so it is futile to try and forget our past, because our exposure