The short stories ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’ (1948) and ‘For Esmé—with Love and Squalor’ (1950) present the American writer Jerome David Salinger in his prime. Both short stories are well-acclaimed by critics as well as readers, as they preceded the author’s well-known novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Although the two short stories may not be as famous as the worldwide-known Salinger’s masterpiece is, they both represent him maybe even better than The Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield ever could. They show his readers three main attributes of Salinger’s life and writing – post-war trauma, mastery of depicting the story and his passion for young muses.
Both ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’ and ‘For Esmé—with Love and Squalor’ can be linked to one of Salinger’s women – Jean Miller.1 Salinger met then 14-year-old Miller in 1949. He first saw her at a hotel pool, and their first encounter and later days spent together may remind of the beach sequence from ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’.2 Later, Miller said that Salinger admitted to her that he would not have had written ‘For Esmé—with Love and Squalor’ if he had not met her.3
Kenneth Slawenski, the author of Salinger’s biography, claims that children are often featured in Salinger’s works mainly to contrast the detached behaviour of adults.4 Nevertheless, …show more content…
Seymour Glass commits suicide, whereas Sergeant X finds comfort in Esmé’s letter. In spite of this, both endings may be considered happy as the protagonists find their relief, after all. It could be assumed that suicidal thoughts circled around Salinger’s head as well as around Seymour’s, which can be sort of confirmed by Margaret Salinger, Salinger’s daughter.8 Salinger’s participation in World War II had an impact on him for the rest of his life and can be traced to other Salinger’s works
Both ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’ and ‘For Esmé—with Love and Squalor’ can be linked to one of Salinger’s women – Jean Miller.1 Salinger met then 14-year-old Miller in 1949. He first saw her at a hotel pool, and their first encounter and later days spent together may remind of the beach sequence from ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’.2 Later, Miller said that Salinger admitted to her that he would not have had written ‘For Esmé—with Love and Squalor’ if he had not met her.3
Kenneth Slawenski, the author of Salinger’s biography, claims that children are often featured in Salinger’s works mainly to contrast the detached behaviour of adults.4 Nevertheless, …show more content…
Seymour Glass commits suicide, whereas Sergeant X finds comfort in Esmé’s letter. In spite of this, both endings may be considered happy as the protagonists find their relief, after all. It could be assumed that suicidal thoughts circled around Salinger’s head as well as around Seymour’s, which can be sort of confirmed by Margaret Salinger, Salinger’s daughter.8 Salinger’s participation in World War II had an impact on him for the rest of his life and can be traced to other Salinger’s works