Nine Stories by JD Salinger
J D Salinger wrote Nine Stories with the same brilliance as Catcher In The Rye. His style is so unique and complex that all of his short Stories are truly enjoyable. 2 of those stories are A perfect day For a bananafish and For Esme with love and squalor. The key Characters in both of these stories, Seymour and Sargent X, have served In World War II, and the fighting has taken a heavy toll on them. Their Physiological well being was sacrificed and as a consequence they are no Longer the same people they were before. Both feel divided from the Folk in their life, the same folks they’d loved before the war.
The isolation the war has been responsible for is carried over into their lives, and It caused these men to search for new sorts of comfort and security, in The specific types of Sybil and Esme.
In An ideal day for a bananafish, Muriel and her hubby Seymour have different points of view of life. Muriel is a untroubled and complacent person, while her man is kind of strange and a touch paranoid. His paranoia is illustrated when He looses it in the hotel lift, I have two standard feet and I cant see the smallest God-damned reason anybody should stare At them. Muriel nonetheless , is unacquainted with Seymours wild Breakdowns. She is rather assured that Seymour is completely Sane as she reports to her mother on the fone. Muriel Doesn’t know about this side of Seymour because he has become divided from her after the war. Their characters do not Match anymore, if they ever did, and he is seeking some sort of Understanding that he knows Muriel can not provide. Seymours Relationship with Sybil is making up for Muriels shortcomings.
Seymour is attempting to find the understanding of a kid and the Love of an adult. He would like someone that will not judge him. He Rea! Lizes the impossibility of his wants with Sybil when he Gets a loud reaction from her after kissing the arch of her foot.
Seymour has nobody who understands him, which causes his sense of Isolation. He cannot relate to the world he lives in and with no One to provide comfort and security he is driven to suicide.
Sargent X has an interesting relationship with Esme in For Esme with love and squalor. Esme is kind of privy to the horrors Of war and claims to Sgt. X, I’m hoping you return from the war with All of your faculties intact. Sgt. X actually would not have Returned with all his faculties intact if it were not for Esme and the letter she wrote him. Sgt. X, due to the war, Is stationed far from home and is isolated from the lady He adores. He is isolated from his entire world, which is why he Carries around the stale letters. The letters maybe are From his other half and provide him with comfort. Esme senses Sgt. Xs sense of alienation, which is the reason why she approaches him in The tearoom. Sgt. X feels comforted by Esmes presence along With the innocence of Charles, Esmes brother. Its like she’s His only connection to the physical world, and is the reason why he agrees To write her. Especially after fighting in the war and being Shelled the world outside of war is distant to Sgt. X and Esm! E is his last connection to fact. The childish Hi Hi Hi LOVE AND KISSES CHARLES from the letter is comforting and Enlightens Sgt. X that there is still some happiness out there. In a Time when X has zilch to relate to, Esmes comradeship gives him the Comfort and security to keep his faculties intact.
In these cases war is what causes alienation, as it distances folk from the world theyve known and lived in before. With Nobody to understand and comfort them, one has virtually nothing to keep Themselves cheerful and sane. Isolation leads to depression and Suicide, and is the reason why someone that can help keeps reality close By is so important,eg Esme was for Sgt. X. Esme provided Comfort and security for Sgt. X, while nobody could do so for Seymour. The comfort and security is what kept Sgt. X alive and The absence of is what ended it for Seymour.