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Nine Stories Study Guide

by J.D. Salinger

Nine Stories study guide contains a biography of J.D. Salinger, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

In “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” a woman named Muriel argues on the phone with her mother, who is worried about the girl’s apparently unstable husband – war veteran Seymour Glass. Muriel and Seymour, meanwhile, are on vacation at a seaside hotel. When we meet Seymour, he is on the beach in a bathrobe, chatting with a young girl named Sybil. He tells Sybil they should go into the water and look for “bananafish” – peculiar creatures who have a habit of getting stuck in banana-filled holes after eating too much and growing too fat to move. After the dip in the water, Seymour returns to his hotel room and, next to his sleeping wife, shoots himself with a pistol.

“Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” involves two middle-aged women by the names of Mary…

Read the full Nine Stories Summary

• Nine Stories Summary
• About Nine Stories
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
• Summary and Analysis of "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" and "Just Before the War with the Eskimos"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Laughing Man" and "Down at the Dinghy"
• Summary and Analysis of "For Esme - with Love and Squalor"
• Summary and Analysis of "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes"
• Summary and Analysis of "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period"
• Summary and Analysis of "Teddy"
• Nine Stories and the Short Story Tradition
• Related Links on Nine Stories
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Nine Stories: Major Themes
• Nine Stories: Essays
• Nine Stories: Questions
• Nine Stories: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• J.D. Salinger: Biography