Blog Post 3

      "Catcher in the Rye" is a novel written by J.D. Salinger. It is about a young man named Holden Caulfield who after being expelled from Pency Prep roams New York City. Later in the story, the reader discovers that Holden is in a mental institution. In comparison, "A Perfect Day for a Bananafish". "A Perfect Day for a Bananafish" is a short story, also written by J.D. Salinger. It is about a man named Seymour Glass who suffers PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after World War 2. Within this short story Seymour's wife speaks to her mother on the phone and the conversation is quite odd, Seymour is on the beach with a little girl and is acting childish, Seymour begins to yell at a stranger in the elevator over something that didn't happen, and then Seymour shoots himself in the head next to his sleeping wife in their hotel room. These two works by J.D. Salinger are similar in some ways.
     To begin, both main characters, Seymour and Holden, strive to be kids again. Seymour wants to be able to forget about the war and wants the simplicity of life back. Holden is just very terrified of growing up and really does not want to. Another similarity between the two works are the two little girls that are important to each of the protagonists, Sybil in "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and Phoebe in "Catcher in the Rye". Phoebe is Holden's little sister while Sybil is a little girl in the hotel with Seymour. Both characters truly enjoyed the company of the girls, they loved being able to joke around with someone and act childish. Lastly, both Seymour and Holden were mentally ill due to their past life events.