The Failure Of The Middle Of His Stories - 1995 Words

Emily Garcia Tornquist ENG 020 Professor Carolan September 22, 2014 The Failure to Cope J.D. Salinger drops the reader into the middle of his stories. Without any sense of characters, setting, or plot, the reader is thrown into the lives of others as they scramble to unearth the truth behind the scenes. Salinger provides complex stories of relatable characters; some are stories of happiness and others are of loss and dysfunction. Often times, the characters have difficulties dealing with the harsh realities of their lives and have to look towards alternate means of coping. Society fosters an overly structured environment with little room for atypical relationships, ideals, and behaviors. Anything that is outside of the normal is immediately written off and labeled as deviant behavior, something that is often frowned upon in this day and age. The characters in Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger use various coping mechanisms to escape the reality that societal norms and traditionalism present. Seymour Glass of A Perfect Day for Bananafish is a twisted character who, having re turned from the traumas of war, has a hard time fitting back into a routine of normalcy. His partner, Muriel, is more interested in the material things that surround her than she is with her lover. When Seymour cannot find the partnership that he needs with Muriel, he is forced to switch to an alternate source of companionship. He meets a young girl named Sybil on the beach, and quickly bonds with her.Show MoreRelatedComparing How Sherwood Anderson, William Faulkner, And Or Willa Cather Portray Aspects Of Small-Town Life1493 Words   |  6 Pagesmuch on people’s misery in most of his stories and utilized them ironically when ending the story. His life experiences influenced the methodology he utilized to write them. The stories related to difficult times that he went through while growing up. 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