Failed Relationships

One central theme in all three of the short stories is failed romantic relationships. In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," the relationship between Seymour and Muriel is slightly short of a success, given that Seymour kills himself. In "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut," Walt, the man Eloise loves, dies, and Eloise therefore marries Lew, a man she does not love and has no respect for, and this marriage makes her miserable. Mary Jane also has bad luck with marriage, as she is married to a soldier for all of three months, during which time he gets in jail for stabbing another man. Even Ramona doesn't do to well with relationships. Jimmy Jimmereeno gets "runned over" and then Eloise forces Ramona to kill Mickey Mickeranno by making her roll onto him. In "Just Before the War with the Eskimos," Franklin tries to start a relationship with Joan, but she completely ignores him when he sends her letters. In all three short stories, relationships end in dismal failure.

Imaginative Children and High Maintenance Wives

In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", we meet Sybil, who is a highly imaginative little girl. For example, when Seymour tells her the tale of the bananafish, she immediately claims to have seen one, and even gives details to back it up. "Did he [the bananfish] have any bananas in his mouth?" Seymour asks, and Sybil replies, "Yes. Six." (Salinger 24) In "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut", we meet Ramona, another extremely imaginative child. She has several imaginary friends, and believes in them so strongly that she sleeps on the far side of her bed at night to avoid hurting them. In "Just Before the War with the Eskimos", Franklin also seems like an imaginative individual, and while he is technically an adult, there is a childlike quality about him that is similar to the quirkiness shared by Sybil and Ramona. Another reoccurring theme in the three stories is that of high maintenance wives. In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", Muriel comes off as somewhat vain, and seems to enjoy being pampered. Eloise from "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" is even more high maintenance. She complains about her life, including her husband's incompetence and her daughter's strangeness, and grieves over her college boyfriend Walt. Also, in "Just Before the War with the Eskimos", Serena says that her mother is sick with pneumonia and must not be disturbed. Thus, these two themes, high maintenance women and quirky and creative children, seem to come up frequently in Salinger's work.

Are Ankles and War Related?

In the first three stories of J. D. Salinger's Nine Stories, ankles and war stories are always brought up, usually related in some way. In "A Perfect Day For Bananafish", Seymour suffers from PTSD after fighting in the war. When he and Sybil are on the beach together, he grabs ahold of her ankles several times. This could possibly be as a result of the war. Maybe he lost one of his legs and cherishes ankles. Maybe he just likes ankles. In "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut", Eloise falls in front of her boyfriend, Walt, hurting her ankle. Walt, who ends up dying in the war, uses the term "Poor Uncle Wiggily" to refer to her ankle. Whenever Eloise thinks about Walt or her ankle, her memories are tainted with the poison of war and the death of Walt. Finally, in "Just Before the War with the Eskimos", Franklin seems to scratch areas of his body throughout the whole story. However, his favorite place to scratch seems to be his ankles, as it is mentioned several times. Not only that, but it only mentions Franklin's ankles when he and Ginnie are talking about her sister, a girl who Frankly clearly had feelings for despite calling her snobby. What makes this so interesting is that Joan (Ginnie's sister) is now engaged to a Lieutenant commander in the Navy who is fighting in the war. He scratches his ankles several times while talking about Joan and the war. In Salinger's first three stories, ankles and war seem to go hand in hand.

BannaFish

Does the constant use of numbers have a greater significance? Is Seymour a bannanafish, and all the girls at the hotel bannanas?

Banana Fish

Why does Muriel use "dear" so much when talking to her mother, it seems derogatory?
Is it possible that Seymour has the post dramatic stress disorder from the war causing him to act so profoundly?

Bananafish Questions, Cowper

Salinger mentions a blue coat in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", does this have any connection to the blue coat worn by Holden Caulfield's sister?

What is it that finally pushes Seymour over the edge??

Bananafish Questions

Does Sybil's repeated questions about "the glass" have anything to do with the fact that Seymour's wife's name is Mrs. Glass? Was Seymour disturbed before the war, or was being at war a turning point in his personality?

BannanaPhone

Could the incident with the trees as well as Seymour's passion with feet be related to PTSD?

Could his suicide be related to the last step of the Koan, realizing he can no longer grasp his sanity after the incident in the elevator, and that he must instead let himself go, before coming something that he cannot control? 

Bananafish Questions

How is the relationship between Muriel and her mother affected by Seymour's problems?

Was Seymour's kissing Sibyl's foot related to his sudden anger at a woman staring at his feet?

Bananafish Questions

1. Why does Sybil claim she saw a bananafish after she and Seymour were hit by a wave?
2. Is Seymour's description of the manner in which the bananafish gets trapped and dies based on the Koan about the goose in a bottle, and, if so, why did Salinger base the bananafish off of this Koan?

Bananafish questions

1. Why does Sybil keep saying "see more glass"?

2. Why did the Seymour kill himself after seeing the woman looking at his ankles?

Bananafish Questions

Why does Seymour always grab Sybil's ankles and kiss the bottom of her foot?
Why does Seymour get upset when he thinks the woman in the elevator is looking at his feet?

Questions on Bananafish

1. What funny business with the trees is Muriel's mother talking about?
2. Why is Sybil so worried about the fact that Seymour was sitting with Sharon Lipschutz? Is she jealous?

Questions

What exactly is Seymour's "tattoo"? What does the little girl (Sybil) mean when she asks her mom about seeing more glass?

A recent piece on NPR about Salinger

NPR piece on Salinger