Name
ENG 106
Professor
13 June 2011
The Linkage between “Teddy” and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” J.D. Salinger’s stories “Teddy” and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” share similarities between the main characters, the tragic fate of the main characters, and the author’s continued theme of the shallowness that existed in American culture in the 1950’s. In another of Salinger’s stories “Seymour: an Introduction,” it is mentioned that Seymour’s brother Buddy wrote “Teddy,” and described Teddy as having Seymour’s eyes (Kaufman 132). Buddy also says the people tell him his stories are all about Seymour, which further suggests a link between the two characters (Kaufman 132). Seymour and Teddy are both outcasts that share their lives with people that they are emotionally disconnected from. They are unable to assimilate into the world around them and therefore their stories come to a similar conclusion. Seymour and Teddy share many similarities that lead the reader to assume Salinger was attempting to provide a linkage between the stories. Seymour appears to be mild mannered though it is obvious he is disturbed mentally. He lives in isolation from his wife and from others in his social circle. Even doctors that are treating him cannot understand or help him recover. His wife dismisses Seymour’s mental stability in her conversation with her mother, and is more concerned with talking about the psychiatrist’s drinking habits and his wife’s ugly dress, than to ask him questions about Seymour’s health (Salinger 10). Teddy is also detached from his family, and misunderstood by the intellectuals examining him. His parents are emotionally neglectful, and are more concerned about sleeping in then on their children’s whereabouts. The father and mother inappropriately argue with each other in front of Teddy, the father saying to the mother “I’d like to kick your goddam head