Even though he has found a partner in Sybil spiritually, he is most definitely spiritually and intellectually alienated from his partner – Muriel, whose name even assonates the sound of ‘material,’ only dreams of her superficial, and has no thoughts whatsoever on her spiritual being. Sybil’s innocence may also be her path to spiritualism as she sees this ability in Seymour and is actually the one who calls Seymour by the name See-more repeatedly, and maybe then it is why there is such a good relationship between the two. This is why Sybil is a friend that Seymour endears very much as she has not yet took a bite from this apple of logic or eaten the bananas from a hole as a bananafish. He has followed Teddy’s deeper understanding of spirituality and can in fact see things for what they are. See-more does exactly as his name suggests. ‘ This is something that Seymour, or should I say ‘See-more,’ is more than capable of doing. ‘What you have to do is vomit it up if you want to see things as they really are. This brings me upon my next point in which it is clearly visible from Teddy’s paragraph the reason behind the choice of the name Seymour. Just as Seymour’s soul does not really seem to belong to his body and thus wishes to return back to its home. Mainly eaten in countries where it doesn’t grow, so it doesn’t really belong there. The symbolism of the fruit, spirituality and Seymour are also quite closely related. Seymour has realised that the release from the body is actually a spiritual victory and not defeat and thus decides to commit suicide following this greater spirituality in which – as Teddy suggested – objects can be seen for what they are and not just names that have been designated to them. ‘ This quote shows if pursued with too much zeal, these bananas (or apples), can prevent spiritual development. So – this is my point – what you have to do is vomit it up if you want to see things as they really are. This is as seen in Teddy, whom stated the idea of an apple instead of a banana, it is said, ‘You know that apple Adam ate in the Garden of Eden, referred to in the Bible? ‘ he asked. Salinger also attempts to symbolise that the bananas in Seymour’s story represent all of the things which are taken in along the journey to adulthood. This is just as Seymour is thought to be mad or ‘bananas’ as one might ironically suggest. ‘ When we think of something being bananas – we believe it to be mad. Let us ponder for a moment this idea of a ‘bananafish. This is the so called disease that the bananafish acquire over their time in the hole. Two very major stages that many soldiers of war encountered.
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