So what do you think?’ He asked, holding up the book.‘ I think Salinger is a closet paedophile, ’ I replied placidly and was surprised and comforted by this minuscule, acidic, bitter Sylvia Plath like mocking, sniping tone that had crept into my voice. ‘The main character Seymour is a fully grown man and a pervert who befriends young girls with his storytelling and swimming, just to get close enough to groom them in preparation for the inevitable sexual assault he lusts after. You might have noticed for example in A Perfect Day For Bananafish he grabs the young girls-’‘ Sybil.’‘ He grabs Sybil’s ankles while lying on the beach and again when he pushes her in the water, ’ I continued. ‘He goes too far when he kisses the bottom of her foot which makes even a four-year-old yell out in fear, knowing a line had been crossed. Frustrated Seymour walks away and goes back to his hotel where he kills himself in shame. J.D. Gallagher
About This Quote

‘Seymour’ is the main character in ‘A Perfect Day For Bananafish’. ‘Seymour’ is a middle-aged man who enjoys writing stories for children. Seymour is married to Susan, who prefers to stay at home spending time with their daughters. ‘Seymour’ meets ‘Sybil’, an attractive young girl who becomes part of his household.

While ‘Sybil’ spends time with ‘Seymour’ their relationship grows into something more. ‘Seymour’ becomes obsessed with ‘Sybil’ and cannot stand to be away from her. ‘Seymour’ approaches ‘Sybil’ with a plan to take advantage of her innocence, abuse her and ultimately have sex with her.

‘Sybil’ knows that he wants to have sex with her and she tells him that she is terrified of being touched by him because of the way her father was. He responds by saying, ‘The idea of having sex with a 14-year-old frightens me too, but I have no choice. If I let you go now, will you promise never to tell? Or will you tell right now? Let me ask you this-what would happen if they found out? What would happen if they found out my attraction to you was something I could not control? You must see that what I am doing is wrong -you must understand that it goes beyond the boundaries between love and hate.

It goes beyond the boundaries between right and wrong... .

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