/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.3859253]

My class read "Bananafish" and the general consensus was that our Seymour was a Pedophile. Yep.

God bless these American minds, I tell you. I ripped out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

[Anonymous No.3859273]

Well.. it's not an IMPOSSIBLE explanation

[Anonymous No.3859290]

My class read "Lolita" and the general consensus was that our Humbert was a Pedophile. Yep.

God bless these American minds, I tell you. I ripped out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

[Anonymous No.3859301]

That's the only thing I could get from it as well. Or at least that he wasn't necessarily a pedophile, but someone who let his inhibitions down and then became repulsed by himself.

Although now that I think about it could have also been more about him finding the innocence of the child, and the idea that she would later turn into what his girlfriend (wife? I can't remember which right now) is now.

I don't know Salinger, can be pretty difficult to pull apart sometimes.

[Anonymous No.3859313]

oooooo, a bananafish discussion!

[Anonymous No.3859315]

If asked, I would have said that he was depressed in the first place, having trouble settling into daily life-- even worse, leisurely time and the combination of the kid's innocence and imagining him in the future in situations like this were too much. Not much evidence for sexual undertone or problems.

[Internet Pilgrim !LdZRmTAuN2 No.3859324]

>>3859253
Bananafish is my favorite short story. And 9 Stories might as well be my favorite book. I'm sorry for what you had to go through OP.
>>3859273
It is a very ridiculous explanation. Given Seymour's personality and the type of guy he is, in additon to Salinger's know recurring themes of alienation and innocence we would expect Seymour's interaction with Sybil to hold a much deeper meaning and significance than him being a pedophile. No?

[Anonymous No.3859336]

>>3859315
Hmm... ok I think I get it more now.

I think the whole pedophile argument comes from him going and spending a bunch of time with some stranger's kid, swimming with her, and nibbling on her feet. Then in the elevator he freaks out that the lady is looking at his feet, which I took as a manifestation of his guilt or something.

But I can see where you're coming from too, and maybe the whole pedophile idea is what Salinger was wanting us to think of to show our own corruption. Seymour realizes that this level of interaction with the girl, if it were later on in life, would be seen as a sexual one and it must have torn him up inside. To him, and the girl, it was a completely innocent act and yet a large portion of the readers think, "We've got ourselves a pedophile here!" I don't think that kind of disparity between reader and character in the story is merely a coincidence.

[Anonymous No.3859355]

>>3859336
I thought that Salinger was toying with us-- testing us to see if we would find the feet thing innocent or begin to judge the case of Seymour as something un-innocent. I think this is similar to what you're saying or simply what you are saying.

[Anonymous No.3859363]

>>3859355
Yeah that's what I was trying to get across. I tend to jump around a bit when I'm trying to explain something I'm not very sure about and still trying to work out.

[Internet Pilgrim !LdZRmTAuN2 No.3859428]

Everyone ITT should read Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters; Seymour: An Introduction.
It'll give you more insight into Seymour's psych and personality and you won't be presenting such atrocious interpretations on Bananafish.

[Anonymous No.3859482]

I think a lot of teachers were prudes growing up and they thought that all guys were rapists. Then as they approach menopause, they start to get extremely horny, more so because they spent their whole life avoiding the dick. Suddenly, all literature and all art becomes about sex and everything is a phallic symbol and everything that defies categorization is a vagina.

Then bam next thing you know Seymour is a pedophile. Then your teacher goes home and opens her eighth copy of Twilight because the pages in the last 7 copies are sticky and ruined from all the schlicking she did over them.

[Anonymous No.3859506]

>>3859428
>you guys should echo the interpretation I read in a critical essay by an unremarkable author

Sometimes, when you're alone at night, do you ever feel even the least bit pathetic?

[Internet Pilgrim !LdZRmTAuN2 No.3859551]

>>3859506
>>3859506
>you guys should echo the interpretation I read in a critical essay by an unremarkable author

You fucking dumb fuck. "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters; Seymour: An Introduction" is another JD Salinger with Seymour in it. I don't even...

[Internet Pilgrim !LdZRmTAuN2 No.3859557]

>>3859506
>you guys should echo the interpretation I read in a critical essay by an unremarkable author

You fucking dumb fuck. "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters; Seymour: An Introduction."
is another JD Salinger book that also features Seymour in it. I don't even...

[Anonymous No.3859575]

>>3859253
ITT: Hyper imaginative virgins.

I merely saw it as a character study of shell shocked veterans and Seymour saying goodbye to his sanity/formerly idealistic world view. Muriel's comments on Seymour express Salinger's perception of himself and by extension, combat veterans in relation to society. Rather than examining how society views 'broken' men, Salinger provides the reader the perspective of societal outcasts and the feelings of desperation and isolation that come from their inability to fit in.

[Anonymous No.3859683]

>>3859557
It's by Salinger too, idiot. Seymour isn't limited to one short story.

[Anonymous No.3860095]

>>3859506
seymour: an introduction is the first book in the glass family chronicles, to which bananafish belongs.