"a perfect day for bananafish" is a short story by j. d. salinger, originally published in the january 31, 1948 issue of the new yorker. it was anthologized in 1949's 55 short stories from the new yorker, as well as in salinger's 1953 collection, nine stories. the story is an enigmatic examination of a young married couple, muriel and seymour glass, while on vacation in florida.slawenski, 2010, p. 159 it is the first of his stories to feature a member of the fictional glass family. when twenty-eight-year-old salinger submitted the manuscript to the new yorker in january 1947, titled "the bananafish",slawenski, 2010, p. 158 its arresting dialog and precise styleslawenski, 2010, p. 158-159 was read with interest by fiction editor william maxwell and his staff, though the point of the story, in this original version, was deemed incomprehensible.slawenski, 2010, p. 159 at maxwellâs urging, salinger embarked upon a major reworking of the piece, adding the opening section with murielâs character, and crafting the material to provide insights into seymourâs tragic demise.slawenski, 2010, p. 159 salinger, in frequent consultation with editor gus lobrano, revised the story numerous times throughout 1947, renaming it âa fine day for bananafishâ.slawenski, 2010, p. 159alexander, 1999, p. 124 the new yorker published the final version as âa perfect day for bananafishâ one year after salinger had first submitted the manuscript.slawenski, 2010, p. 159 the effort was met with immediate acclaim, and according to salinger biographer paul alexander, it was "the story that would permanently change his standing in the literary community.âalexander, 1999, p. 124 salingerâs decision to collaborate with maxwell and the new yorker staff in developing the story marked a major advance in his careerslawenski, 2010, p. 159, p. 168 and led to his entry into that echelon of elite writers at the journal.slawenski, 2010, p. 168 ==plot summary== the story opens in an upscale seaside hotel room in florida. a young woman, muriel glass, is preening herself while waiting for the hotel switchboard operator to put a long-distance phone call through to her mother. self-absorbed and complacent, she is âa girl who for the ringing of a phone dropped exactly nothing. she looked as if her phone had been ringing continually since she reached puberty. speaking with her mother, the central topic is murielâs young husband, seymour, a world war ii combat veteran recently discharged from an army hospital, where he was presumably evaluated for psychiatric disorders.salinger, 1948, p. 6, p. 7 he has gone down to the beach for the afternoon. the mother-daughter exchange includes a good deal of banter about clothing and fashion, as well as disparaging remarks about the quality of the hotel guests.slawenski, 2010, p. 160 the mother is disgusted and incen
1948_short_stories Short_stories_by_J._D._Salinger Works_originally_published_in_The_New_Yorker