ISP Blog #4, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," by J.D. Salinger

In the short fiction piece “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” by J.D. Salinger, the author uses certain literary tools in order to make the story more effective. Through analyzing the structure and the character development, one can determine how Salinger successfully creates a captivating story.

One method that can be seen is the use of balanced structure. The story begins with the description of a girl, Muriel, as she waits in a hotel to get her long-distance call through. We are shown that, to pass the time, Muriel partakes in meaningless activities such as painting her fingernails, “with her little lacquer brush, while the phone was ringing, she went over the nail of her little finger, accentuating the line of the moon.” After this scene, we are introduced to the character of the “young man”. The structure of the piece is balanced when we see the path of the “young man” (Seymour, Muriel’s husband) from that part of the story become intertwined with that of Muriel. As he “got off at the fifth floor, walked down the hall, and let himself into 507,” he notices that “the room smelled of new calfskin luggage and nail-lacquer remover.” Through the young man’s perspective, we are shown that Muriel spent the rest of her time removing the nail polish she had recently just applied. Through reintroducing the first character of the piece with another character, the structure of the piece becomes very balanced and satisfying.

Another tool that can be analyzed is the development of characters in the story. One can learn about a character through what they say, through what others say about them, through their actions and through their personal appearance. At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Muriel who, while waiting to place her call, spends time improving her personal appearance, “took the spot out of the skirt of her beige suit, moved the button on her Saks blouse.” From this detail, we can tell that she is somewhat narcissistic as well as slightly disinterested in the call she is about to place. We learn more about her as soon as her mother begins talking to her on the phone. We learn that Muriel does not feel the need to have her mother completely involved in her life and that she wants to be independent. Her mother repeatedly asks her if she is “alright” to which Muriel responds, “Yes, Mother, for the ninetieth time.” The other main characters in the story (Sybil and Seymour) are introduced as the scene shifts from the phone conversation to the beach. We notice immediately that Sybil is a child because of her words and attitude. The first thing we witness her say is “See more glass.” She wants to see “Seymour”. We learned through Muriel’s conversation that “Dr. Sivetski said Seymour may completely lose control.” We are aware that there is something wrong with him. His interactions with Sybil prove this further. He “picks up one of Sybil’s wet feet, which were drooping over the end of the float, and kissed the arch.” This interaction demonstrates that Seymour is most likely a pedophile. Salinger has created a well-developed character as we can see him from various angles.

In conclusion, through analyzing the character development and balanced plot structure of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” by J.D. Salinger, one can learn how to create a captivating story.