Comparison of Child Characters in Salinger's "Teddy" and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"

In J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories there are many tales centered on children, who are often depicted as a symbol of hope and connected with the values that stand in contrast to the ones typical of the adults corrupted by materialism. In my essay, I would like to concentrate on the portrayal of children in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “Teddy”. Even though the way these characters are depicted is similar, a child protagonist in each of the stories is representative of different things. While Sibyl can be seen as a prototype of a childlike innocence, purity and simplicity, Teddy can hardly be considered a prototypical innocent child. Despite the simplicity of Sibyl’s thinking, her presence and behavior help the reader draw many complex conclusions about the main adult in the story “A Perfect Day For Bananafish”, Seymour Glass. Having many abilities and experiences but still being a child at the same time, Teddy also provides us with an in depth understanding of the adult world. In my essay, I would therefore like to contrast and compare the things the children stand for and represent, and the way they provide us with the illumination of the motives and values of the adult world. The fact that Sibyl Carpenter can be seen as a representative of a pure innocence has a profound impact on the development of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”. The certainty that Sibyl is a pure child character is encouraged by the use of the color blue in several parts of the story that is, next to the color white, known to represent innocence and purity. When Seymour first sees Sybil, he says: “That’s a fine bathing suit you have on. If there is one thing I like, it’s a blue bathing suit.” (Salinger 12) Even though in reality it is not blue but yellow, through this single reference, the innocence of a child seems to be pointed out by Seymour. Almost as soon as Sybil is introduced, it is made obvious that she is characterized by the simplicity typical of children of her age.

Cited: Cotter, J.F. “A Source for Seymour’s Suicide: Rilke’s Voices and Salinger’s Nine Stories“. Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 25, No.1(1989): 83-98. McCoppin, Rachel Season: War, Children and Altruism in J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. Akademeia, Vol.1, No.1 (2011). <http://www.akademeia.ca/index.php/main/article/viewArticle/ea0102/18> Salinger, J.D. Nine Stories. Toronto : Bantam, 1986.