Connections

One common aspect between A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut and Just Before War with the Eskimos are the references towards war, specifically World War Two. Salinger always kept an aspect of his life in his stories, and the way in which the characters acted all depended upon the effects of war.

Another aspect that connects these three short stories are the distinct personalities each character takes on. In each of the three stories there is a character that is mentally unstable. For example, in A Perfect Day for Bananafish, the main character Seymour was most likely suffering from a post traumatic stress disorder, which he contracted from fighting in World War Two. His wife Muriel was positive that her husband was in a pretty good state emotionally, but the way in which he acted around little children, specifically Sybil, made his sanity questionable. Seymour was very flirtatious towards Sybil, a six year girl who could have practically been his daughter. He commented on her bathing suit, and kissed her ankles. "That's a fine bathing suit you have on. If there's one thing I like its a blue bathing suit." Sybil was in fact wearing a yellow bathing suit. Blue symbolized innocence. while yellow represented corruption, hence the term Bananafish. (Bananas are yellow.)

In Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut, the main character Eloise was mentally unstable because of the sudden death of Walt, the love of her life. Walt was killed after an explosion he was involved in while he was at war. She remarried and had a child named Ramona, yet her heart was still broken and when she was questioned about Walt, she would take a drag on her cigarette, or drink alcohol. It was as if a part of her innocence was taken from her when Walt died, and she became corrupted with Grief.

Just Before The War With the Eskimos referred to soldiers in the sense that Ginnie's sister had married a lieutenant in the army, and Selena's brother said how Ginnie's sister was the 'Queen of all snobs."because she hadn't answered any of the eight letters he sent her. Franklin (Selena's brother) had a very pessimistic attitude, and he didn't join the army because he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, therefore he wasn't physically capable to fight. Seymour and Franklin both had their differences, yet they were similar in the fact that they were both corrupted, whether it be through the experiences of war, or the hardships of being sick. The way in which they approached people and their attitudes on life were negative and this left Seymour to kill himself, while Franklin was unhappy with his life.