Structure
The short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger is structured into several scenes, and it is devoid of a traditional plot structure. The two main scenes of the short story show the Glass spouses separately; Muriel in the hotel room talking to her mother, and Seymour on the beach with a little girl named Sybil.
The story is constructed in a modernist way, leaving readers to guess the actual plot behind the events which is Seymour’s inner conflict caused by the trauma of WWII and his inability to reintegrate himself into a materialistic society.
Title
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Beginning
The short story begins by introducing us to the setting—a hotel room—and one of the characters, Muriel Glass: “There were ninety-seven New York advertising men in the hotel, and, the way they were monopolizing the long-distance lines, the girl in 507 had to wait from noon till almost two-thirty to get her call through.”
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Middle
The middle of the short story can be divided into several parts or scenes. The first scene renders the telephone conversation between Muriel and her mother, in which the author finally hints towards the real subject of the story, Seymour’s mental problems:
"Well. In the first place, he said it was a perfect crime the Army released him from the hospital – my word of honor. He very definitely told your father there’s a chance – a very great chance, he said, that Seymour may completely lose control of himself. My word of honor."
In fact, the mother’s allusions to Seymour “losing control” function as a foreshadowing element for the end of the story. The conversation between the two women also involves other materialistic concerns about money for a car repair, fashion, and the people in Florida.
The second scene is very brief, as it presents Mrs. Carpenter and her daughter Sybil on the beach, the woman putting sun lotion on her daughter without paying too much attention to the little girl:
"Did you see more glass?"
"Pussycat, stop saying that. It’s driving Mommy absolutely crazy. Hold still, please." Mrs. Carpenter was putting sun-tan oil on Sybil’s shoulders, spreading it down over the delicate, wing-like blades of her back.
The expression “see more glass” is a wordplay, as the little girl refers to Seymour Glass, the protagonist. Her mother, however, fails to realize this.
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Ending
The ending of the short story includes the final scene in which Seymour reaches his hotel room and commits suicide, without any trace of regrets or concerns for his wife:
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