The American writer James A. Baldwin once said: “People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them” (BrainyQuote). It is generally said to leave the past behind. For some, it's a struggle. Sometimes the effects of the past persist, making an “ordinary” future impossible. JD Salinger, a World War II veteran, suffered from lingering mental illness after returning from the war. He published "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" just three years later. Salinger's personal struggle after the war is evident in the story's theme: loneliness and uncertainty in the face of a difficult situation. The main character of the story, Seymour, and Salinger share the burden of feelings. outcast and alone upon returning from the war. The author and his created character search for the innocence they lost during the war, in particular, seems to see it in the children's youth. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” takes place during. after World War II in a seaside resort in Florida, United States. Long story short, Seymour, a visibly disturbed veteran, took his wife to the beach where they had vacationed before the war. At the beach, Seymour meets and becomes fascinated by Sybil, a little girl whom he hires to help him search for a made-up "banana fish". “Salinger seems to have an inherent understanding of dramatic technique, and he is able to integrate it into his short story writing” (Shurman). The structure of the story is similar to the unfolding of a play with precise dialogues and moments of increasing intensity. Throughout the short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” J.D. Salinger effectively develops the themes of loneliness, uncertainty, and pain in a difficult situation using symbolism, foreshadowing, and mood. As the story unfolds, ...... middle of paper ...... is not stuck in the hole. People, like Seymour, create illusions and imaginary images to relieve themselves of emotional stress and suffering. It seems that the banana fish's life before swimming into the hole symbolizes Seymour's life before the war; and once in the hole, his life after the war. Seymour then explains that all the banana fish are going to die: “Well, they have banana fever. It’s a terrible disease’” (Salinger 323). The banana fish is Seymour and the terrible illness he suffers from is metaphorical of the war where he loses his youth and innocence. William Wiegand attempts to "solve" the riddle of Seymour's death when he asserts that Seymour is "a banana fish himself" who has "become so saturated with sensation that he can no longer swim in society." » (Lane). "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" refers to Seymour's idea of ​​his day, his internal illness, and his ultimate death..