Since the publication of The Catcher in the Rye and A Perfect Day for Bananafish, a lot of readers have suspected that renowned author J.D. Salinger used his own feelings and personal experiences to create main characters, Holden Caulfield and Seymour Glass. Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye, deals with a troubling past and has many internal problems and emotions that he keeps hidden from the few friends he has. These feelings stay bottled up in Holden throughout the story and could be the reason for his illogical decisions towards the end of the book. Like Holden, Seymour Glass, the main character of A Perfect Day for Bananafish, deals with many problems. These problems are most likely attributed to Seymour’s
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Salinger’s stories, it becomes apparent to the reader that Holden and Seymour are dealing with many internal issues. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden often makes the claim that he is depressed. One example of this is when Holden is getting ready to sneak out of Pencey High School and says, “One thing about packing depressed me a little. I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple days before” (Salinger 58). Holden is truly depressed despite sounding sarcastic and fake. One of the reasons for Holden’s depression is that he feels guilty about how disappointed his parents will be once they find out he failed another school. This guilt causes Holden to feel bad about receiving the new ice skates days before he is notified about getting kicked out of Pencey. By the end of A Perfect Day for Bananafish it becomes very obvious to the reader that Seymour Glass was dealing with many mental problems. One problem Seymour has is that he cannot put the war behind him. This causes the memories of the war to haunt him. For example, towards the end of the story, Seymour catches a woman looking at his feet, and suddenly becomes furious, “I have two normal feet and I can’t see the slightest God-damned reason why anybody should stare at them” (Salinger 9). Seymour takes offense to the woman staring at his feet because it causes him to feel different from most people. The woman would not have stared at Seymour’s feet …show more content…
Holden has very few friends and doesn’t have anyone that truly understands him. This is why Holden is never able to talk about his depression and many of his true feelings about certain people. This isolation relates to Seymour, because like Holden, Seymour doesn’t have anyone to open up to. Despite being married, it seems as if Seymour never really talks to his wife Muriel, about his experiences in World War Two. Even if Seymour were to talk to Muriel about his war experiences, she cannot understand the horrors of World War Two because she didn’t fight in the war. This inability to relate to someone causes Holden and Seymour to be very unsociable. It also means that the pain these two characters are going through cannot be helped or understood by anyone. Being as isolated as they are, Seymour and Holden each have very few friends and don’t have somebody that understands
Salinger’s stories, it becomes apparent to the reader that Holden and Seymour are dealing with many internal issues. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden often makes the claim that he is depressed. One example of this is when Holden is getting ready to sneak out of Pencey High School and says, “One thing about packing depressed me a little. I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple days before” (Salinger 58). Holden is truly depressed despite sounding sarcastic and fake. One of the reasons for Holden’s depression is that he feels guilty about how disappointed his parents will be once they find out he failed another school. This guilt causes Holden to feel bad about receiving the new ice skates days before he is notified about getting kicked out of Pencey. By the end of A Perfect Day for Bananafish it becomes very obvious to the reader that Seymour Glass was dealing with many mental problems. One problem Seymour has is that he cannot put the war behind him. This causes the memories of the war to haunt him. For example, towards the end of the story, Seymour catches a woman looking at his feet, and suddenly becomes furious, “I have two normal feet and I can’t see the slightest God-damned reason why anybody should stare at them” (Salinger 9). Seymour takes offense to the woman staring at his feet because it causes him to feel different from most people. The woman would not have stared at Seymour’s feet …show more content…
Holden has very few friends and doesn’t have anyone that truly understands him. This is why Holden is never able to talk about his depression and many of his true feelings about certain people. This isolation relates to Seymour, because like Holden, Seymour doesn’t have anyone to open up to. Despite being married, it seems as if Seymour never really talks to his wife Muriel, about his experiences in World War Two. Even if Seymour were to talk to Muriel about his war experiences, she cannot understand the horrors of World War Two because she didn’t fight in the war. This inability to relate to someone causes Holden and Seymour to be very unsociable. It also means that the pain these two characters are going through cannot be helped or understood by anyone. Being as isolated as they are, Seymour and Holden each have very few friends and don’t have somebody that understands