Those who are drowning in luxury are blinded by reality. J.D. Salinger critiques the shallowness of materialism that emerged post WWII in A Perfect Day For Bananafish. The mysterious tone and quick dialogue allow for indirect characterization, so the reader can explore the bubble in which the characters live in.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Salinger was drafted into the army, serving from 1942-44. His short military career saw him land at Utah Beach in France during the Normandy Invasion, and behe was a part of the action at the Battle of the Bulge. (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish | work by Salinger | Britannica,” n.d.-a). However, he did not leave the war without trauma. He expressed this through his character, Seymour, who suffers from PTSD. Seymour and Salinger lived reclusive lifestyles, especially, after WWII. Salinger pulled up stakes in New York City and retreated to a secluded, 90-acre place in Cornish, New Hampshire. There, Salinger did his best to cut-offcut off contact with the public and significantly slowed his literary output. (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish | work by Salinger | Britannica,” n.d.-a). Seymour lacked the ability to connect with others, rejected the company of his wife, Muriel, and other adults at the Florida resort and on the beach. Salinger also struggled to maintainingmaintain romantic relationships, and eventually his wife divorced him. (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish | work by Salinger | Britannica,” n.d.-a). After WWII, the economic boom prompted Americans to buy excessively, this. This marked a drastic departure from the scarcity necessitated by the war and depressionthe Depression. Post war America reveled in gluttony and a materialistic consumer society. Seymour’s beautiful, socialite wife, Muriel, is unconcerned with Seymour's mental condition, she. She was enamored with beauty and materialistic society as well as the adult world of womanhood and sexuality. (“Theme Of Materialism In A Perfect Day For Bananafish | Bartleby,” n.d.).