II Veterans In J. D. Salinger's A Perfect Day For Bananafish

Although many people simply picture a soldier who has fought in war, as a person who is courageous, brave and mature, J.D. Salinger, a World War II veteran, has written many short stories in which he has depicted World War II veterans who have become mentally obstruct due to the effects of war. J.D. Salinger himself has experienced a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and has chosen to let people to rethink about the veterans who have fought in war, through his works of literature. In one of his short stories, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, a character by the name of Seymour Glass is affected by PTSD. Many of the civilians in the story are worried about what Seymour might do since he is acting strangely. While Seymour

However, it is a bit suspicious that Muriel is avoiding her mother’s questions as shown in her conversation “‘He drove? Muriel, you have me your word of--’ ‘Mother’...’I just told you. He drove very nicely’” (6). From the conversation, it reveals how Seymour’s mother is a bit worried about Seymour driving the car since she is aware that Seymour is losing control of himself. It also shows that Muriel is unwilling to accept that her husband is going through a mental obstruction, which is why Muriel doesn’t want her mother to be worried. Muriel even tells her mother “‘you talk about him as though he were a raving maniac’” (13). Later on in the story, Salinger describes Seymour in the beach talking to a little girl named Sybil. One of his conversation, which is oddly strange, is how Seymour tells Sybil to help him find a bananafish. He describes them as “‘...they swim into a hole where there’s a lot of bananas. They’re very ordinary looking fish when they swim

When Seymour arrives back to his hotel to get back to his hotel room, he gets on the same elevator with a woman and he notices her looking at his feet. Unfortunately, Seymour does not take this lightly and says “‘If you want to look at my feet, say so’…‘But don’t be a God-damned sneak about it’”. (25). This seems to suggest some sort of instability as he is easily aggravated by the smallest things. Finally, Seymour is in his hotel room and takes out a Ortgies calibre 7.65 automatic from one of the luggage. While unknown why for the most part, Seymour aims the pistol at his right temple and fires a bullet. This indicates how Seymour was at a stage where he has suicidal thoughts and couldn’t control himself. Overall, throughout the story, J.D. Salinger makes it clear, that veterans who come out of war will never be the same. Salinger, who has faced PTSD himself, is making an accurate message through his story of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, that war veterans are often misunderstood by many people. Readers simply cannot understand fully because they have not experienced what these soldiers have