Compare and Contrast Paragraph

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "For Esmé -- with Love and Squalor" share a large variety of concepts, as well as ideas. While similar in more ways than one, however, the two short stories also seem to differ. For example, the major theme of each of the two stories is practically identical. The main characters are constantly at war with their innocence, which usually is lost in the process. In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," Seymour is unable to refrain himself from the young girls surrounding him. Unfortunately, he takes both Sharon and Sybil's purity away, ultimately resulting in Seymour's act of suicide. In "For Esmé -- with Love and Squalor," Esmé's innocence is also lost; however, X is not responsible for taking it from her. A huge sense of responsibility was placed upon Esmé following the deaths of her parents. We see this in the consistent descriptions of her hair, as well as her obsession with squalor. Esmé continues to apologize to X for the filthy appearance of her hair. She feels as though she has already moved past her teenage years and has become an adult. X comments on the beauty of her waves, failing to see the loss of innocence. Later in the story, it is mentioned how dirty X's hair has become. He too is coming to grips with the loss of his own purity, just as Seymour does at the end of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." That being said, however, X attacks the realization in a much different way. Both served in WWII, and both suffer from PTSD. Seymour looks back on his life and is in disgust with himself, relating to his encounters with young girls in particular; therefore, he chooses to end his own life. On the other hand, X seems to embrace all that has happened in his past. Esmé's letter gives a glimpse of hope to him, which was non-existent prior to its reading. X understands that his PTSD is severe; however, through all of his struggles, he sees that he still "stands a chance of again becoming a man with all his fac -- with all his f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s intact" (Salinger, 173).