Literary Criticism and "Bananafish" Review

Seymour Glass is a veteran returning from which war?

• WWI

• The Korean War

• WWII

• Operation Desert Storm

Freudian/Psychoanalytic criticism asks...

• What do the character's emotions and actions tell us about their mental state?

• What is the relationship between the characters and their society?

Muriel Glass' mother is worried that Seymour might...

• Not have a good time on vacation

• Hurt Muriel

• Completely lose control

• Spend too much money

Feminist criticism

• What forces are motivating the characters?

• How are women portrayed in the work?

• What parts of the author's personal life are important to the story?

• How many men talk about women in the text?

Seymour buys Muriel a book of __________ poems.

• French

• Spanish

• Japanese

• German

Why does the doctor as Muriel about Seymour at the resort?

• He sees Seymour playing piano for the little girls.

• He notices Seymour and Muriel don't spend much time together.

• He looks sickly.

• He yelled at the doctor's wife.

Marxist literary criticism deals with...

• oppression and class differences

• The history that might impact the story

• The reader's response to the text

• The text itself

A historical/biographical critic would read "Bananafish" and ask...

• Why would anyone write this?

• What about the author's personal life or things that were happening at the time influenced the meaning of the story?

• Do any of the characters respond to the id, ego, or superego?

• How did the writer use paradox to make meaning in the story?

How old was Sybil?

• 3

• 6

• 5

• 3 1/2

Why did Seymour dislike the adults around him?

• They were mean to him

• They were greedy and materialistic

• They didn't watch their children

• He just preferred kids.