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A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger

Decent Essays

In the short story a perfect day for banana fish, materialism plays a huge role throughout the story. Materialism strongly influences Muriel and Seymour's relationship. "She washed her comb and brush. She took the spot out of the skirt of her beige suit. She moved the button on her Saks blouse. She tweezed out two freshly surfaced hairs in her mole. When the operator finally rang her room, she was sitting on the window seat and had almost finished putting lacquer on the nails of her left hand" (Salinger 3). The story begins with Muriel wearing a beige sacks suit, painting her nails, and waiting for her call to go through in her hotel room. Seymour has no interest in anything to do with materialistic items. Seymour is always assuming Muriel is doing something expensive or unnecessary instead of spending time with him, "Thats hard to say sybil. She may be in one of a thousand places. At the hairdresser's. Having her hair dyed mink. Or making dolls of poor children, in her room" (Salinger 6). Muriel's and Seymour's relationship was one of the main reason why Seymour had psychological issues; because they do not connect well with each other. Seymour and her have such fundamental differences which sets her apart from Seymour. Seymour and Muriel do not truly communicate a single time throughout the entire story. Muriel is unable to see Seymour's desperate need for help because she is blinded by her obsession with herself. Seymour's disorder is only shown when interacting with

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