This week we read “banana fish” by J.D Salinger and I have to say it was a little odd and confusing at first. But after reading it a few times and really paying attention, I was able to get a grasp of what was going on. In my discussion I said: In the beginning of “bananafish”, Muriel is seen talking to her mother about their arrival. But her mother is more concerned about Seymour and what he will do to her. These concerns have appeared due to the fact that he had returned from war. This gives me an idea that Seymour has PTSD. But Muriel does not seem as concerned. Her mother asks her several times “are you all right?” It is to be believed that their relationship had changed after his return. “I mean all he does is lie there. He won’t take his bathrobe off”. That seems to be how he had been spending his days. It does not seem like they have talked much.

To really understand why Salinger added in both completely different characters, I had to analyze Seymour and Sybil’s interaction. Sybil is a young girl who freely interacts with Seymour on the beach. They even go into the water together which contradicts what Muriel was saying to her mother about how he just lies on the beach and does not take his robe off. “Are you going in the water?” Sybil said. “I’m seriously considering it. I’m giving it plenty of thought, sybil, you’ll be glad to know”. This interaction between Seymour and Sybil shows how relax and comforted he is by her presence unlike with Muriel. Here we see Seymour take his robe off and go into the water. He is comforted by her youthfulness and her innocence. Something that was stripped away from him at war. Salinger uses both Muriel and Sybil the way he does to show how Seymour is feeling and what he wants to truly feel.

This reading made me truly think about what and how people with PTSD feel. It is not easy to deal with that and sometimes it is overwhelming for people. Seymour even took his own life after having PTSD.

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