Re: QUESTIONING THE BANANAFISH
Elizabeth J Respess (ejrespess@juno.com)
Wed, 16 Jul 1997 23:05:48 -0400 (EDT)
gee, no that wasn't what i meant at all. hadn't even occured to me. the
bananafish seemed to be just a representation of tragedy - of the turns
life can take that lead us to inescapable places - places we don't want
to be. at first, she was not not aware of the bananafish, and couldn't
even see the where the story was headed - because she hadn't yet
experienced tragedy. she had never seen the bananafish. then when she
tells S that she sees it - his reaction is one of shock - and
acknowledgment that eventually, we all see it - even children don't stay
children forever. then he leaves. obviously S already plans to kill
himself, this event just being a catalyst - but somehow his interaction
with the little girl is still sacred to him in some way - removed from
tragedy. until she too sees it.
the only other comment i have about this is about the child becoming fake
to be cool. do you actually know any children? i'm sorry if that sounds
harsh, but children have quite beautiful imaginations. it seems to me
like she is playing along with a story game - S is being no less "fake"
in the sense that he's using his imagination. she seems to recognize
that the story is not literal, and plays along. still - just my
thoughts. again - don't mean to sound like a smartass.