21; or the Latin word “muralis” indeed suggests that her life pertains to or is like a wall. Secondly, Muriel is a static, flat character just like a painting. If she were dynamic she would have substance, she would change her opinion or attitude, but she never does. Muriel, known only by her obsession with the superficial aspects of life(fashion, sex, nail lacquer, etc.) leads us to believe that in fact she is a painting that was originally molded to portray the image society would expect of a “Lady” of her caliber. In turn, it does not seem to matter who Muriel is in Salingers’s story but what she represents. In conclusion, Seymour is similar to the bananafish as he swam his way up the stream of life ingesting the materialism and superficiality that past him on his journey. Half way up the stream he stopped pondered why he had even bothered in the first place. Now he cannot go back down the stream (to Sybil) against the current and cannot bear to continue (with Muriel). At this point Seymour is described as having “banana fever” or becoming so engulfed in materialism. His only rational option would be to stay in the banana hole and die. ....
