3。2 Muriel as the Symbol of the Society 10

3。3 Seymour’s Attempt to Adapt to the Society 11

3。3。1 Seymour Wants to Get Salvation through Marriage 11

3。4 Seymour’s Disappointment and Desperation—the Failure of this Attempt 12

3。4。1 It Strengthens Seymour’s Alienation from Society through Marriage  12

3。4。2 Seymour’s Unwillingness to be a Bananafish 13

4。 Conclusion 14

References 16

1。 Introduction

“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” is an enduringly short novel published in 1948 by the writer Jerome David Salinger。 the first story in Salinger’s 1953 collection, Nine Stories and probably the most critically acclaimed of the nine story。 This thesis is based on the story of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and analyse the cause of Seymour’s suicide and find evidence to support my idea。 Research methods used in this thesis include analysis method, comparative studies and Close reading。 论文网

This thesis contains four parts。 The first part is the introduction。 Mainly talks about the purpose of the thesis, a brief introduction of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and different academic views on the causes of Seymour's suicide。 It also include my view of Seymour's suicide by comparing the research of this subject and find out their shortage and think in a new way on this basis。

The second part is the analyse of Seymour’s character through close reading。 My view of Seymour’s suicide is the conflict between his character and the society。 Therefore it is important to analyse Seymour’s character first to support my view。源Q于W优H尔J论K文M网WwW.youeRw.com 原文+QQ75201.,8766

The third part is about the materialistic society that disagrees with Seymour。 It includes the background of the society and particularly talk about Muriel as the symbol of the society。 Also explain the reason why Seymour’s character can’t adapt to the society and why suicide is his only choice。

The final part is the conclusion。 It shows some similarity between Seymour and Salinger and analyse their thought about death which can greatly support my view on the cause of Seymour’s suicide。

1。1 Purpose of the Thesis 

Jerome David Salinger was an American writer who was well known all over the world due to his widely-read novel, The Catcher in the Rye。 This novel had won him international fame and let his readers had a great expectation towards his novel。 Although, the Cather in the Rye also became his only full-length novel, during his whole life, he was more adapt to writing short stories。 Salinger was raised in Manhattan and began writing short stories while in secondary school。 Several were published in Story magazine in the early 1940s before he began serving in World War II。 In 1948, his critically acclaimed story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his later work。 

Salinger wrote much throughout the war years。 From 1945 on, Salinger's stories were appearing in print regularly, most often in The New Yorker。 “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” published during this period。 According to Salinger biographer Paul Alexander (1999), it was “the story that would permanently change his standing in the literary community。” the story marked a major advance in his career and also “it was probably the most critically acclaimed of the nine story。” (Harold, 1999)