CHARACTERIZATION
Seymour Glass
Seymour was in a war which changed him greatly. He walked around on beaches with a bathrobe on and mainly befriended little children. He told them stories about these so called “Bananafish” which dug into holes in the ocean and at so many bananas that the fish couldn’t get out of the hole so died. There are many ways to relate this story to Seymour. It could be about how you enter the war accept you never get out of it and you always have flashbacks of it and eventually; you die. That story implying Seymour and the war would make the end of the story make a lot more sense. Seymour left the beach in a hurry to get back to his hotel and kill himself. It makes him seem like he was depressed yet in the story never really implied he was.
Muriel Glass
Muriel is Seymour’s wife. She is always worried about him and even talks to her mother about it. They are both worried about him ever since he left the war. Muriel tries to help him but creates her own sadness by trying. She likes to look good by using her makeup and brushing her hair. “her left hand outstretched and away from her white silk dress...”(Salinger 4). This quote in a way shows how she needs to look perfect. Her dress needs to be perfectly clean just to talk on the phone. It’s not very healthy actually. She seems like a very unhappy person because of Seymour.
Sybil Glass
Sybil Carpenter is a young girl who has befriended Seymour. She likes his stories and encourages Seymour to act slightly normal. There is not much describing Sybil yet she seems to be some type of relief for Seymour. Something to bring out the life inside of him.