After reading "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "For Esme with Love and Squalor", I found the two short stories to be immensely similar, with only a few subtle differences. For example, the themes are very much alike. War and how it affects people shows up in both stories. In Bananafish, the main character Seymour suffers from PTSD after having involvement in the war, similarly to Sergeant X/Narrator in For Esme. Although the idea of mental suffering is the same, the end result of the character's suffering is different. Seymour doesn't handle the situation well, resulting in his death, but Sergeant X/Narrator does shows signs of a possible recovery. In Seymour's situation, he doesn't have anything left to live for, so loses hope, and is not able to recover. Sergeant on the other hand is somewhat lifted from his depression after recieving Esme's letter, showing potential for a recovery. Also, while Bananafish only shows the effect war has on people who've witnessed it, For Esme also brings up the effects it has on the children who've lost their parents to it. With her parents lost due to the war, Esme is forced to grow up quicker and take on an adult role for Charles. Another major theme that was shown in both stories is the idea of innocence and youth. This is shown through the children Sybil, Esme, and Charles. Both characters, Seymour and the narrator, are touched by the innocence of each child. They both spend time with them, gain something from them, and come to a realization because of them. Seymour spends an afternoon at the beach with Sybil, learns that innocence is unattainable after being lost, and realizes that he can't live anymore. The narrator spends an afternoon chatting with Esme and Charles, has a connection, and later uses that connection to get back on his feet again. A third similarity between these to short stories is the subtle hint of pedophilia. In Bananafish, this was much more obvious. With the kissing of feet, bananafish metaphor, and flirty conversations, Seymour definitely shows signs of being a pedophile, although the idea is still not completely clear. The narrator also shows signs of pedophilia in For Esme. For example, he comments on how Esme's ankles and feet are lovely. Also, the fact that he invites the 13 year old girl he was specifically eyeing at the church to sit and chat with him is kind of sketchy. These signs are to a much lesser degree than Bananafish's though because one could still prove that the relationship between the narrator and Esme is nothing but a friendship. The last similarity and difference I found between these stories is the usage of color symbols. In Bananafish, yellow and blue were used to represent good and evil, through the the color of bathing suit, and the bananafish. In For Esme, the color green is mentioned multiple times such as Charle's eye color and on the packaging of the wristwatch Esme sends Sergeant. It just so happens that the color green is a mix of blue and yellow, or a mix of good and bad if the meaning is the same. Overall, it is clear that the main concepts and themes within Bananafish and For Esme are the same, but the usage of them are not.
The two short stories, for Esme and Banana fish, share many similarities such as pedophilia themes, innocence themes, the affect of war theme, the cigarette motif, the anti American theme, and the feet motif. Both stories share the theme of pedophilia; this can be seen in banana fish when Seymour kisses Sybil’s feet and with the suggestive term the “banana fish” and Sybil seeing one. This also occurs in for Esme when the narrator describes Esme “(having) straight blonde hair of ear lobe length, an exquisite forehead, and blasé eyes” (90). Another similar theme in the two stories was innocence. This is shown in Banana fish when Seymour yells at the woman for looking at his weathered feet and when Seymour hangs out with a 3-year-old girl because she is innocent. Similarly the narrator in for Esme hangs out with a girl and boy that are much younger then himself and Esme loses her innocence when her parents die. The two stories also share a theme of war and it’s affects. In Banana fish Seymour takes his life because he lost his innocence because of the war and in for Esme Esme also loses her parents because of the war. The anti American theme is also in both stories. It clearly states that in for Esme when Esme openly says that Americans are animals, but in Banana fish the only time it is brought up is when they talk about the book of poems. Motifs that recur in the two stories are that of feet and cigarettes. The motif of feet can be seen in Banana fish when Seymour kisses Sybil’s feet and when Seymour gets mad at the lady for staring at his feet in the elevator. The feet motif can be seen in for Esme when the Narrator remarks the Esme has lovely feet and ankles. Cigarettes are also brought up many times throughout both stories. There are also some differences in the stories one difference is that Banana fish takes place in New York and For Esme takes place in Britain. Another difference is that Seymour is more mentally unstable than Agent X.
ReplyDelete-Jack Antcio