Quote 1
"I see you're looking at my feet," he said to her when the car was in motion.
"I beg your pardon?" said the woman.
"I said I see you're looking at my feet."
"I beg your pardon. I happened to be looking at the floor," said the woman, and faced the doors of the car. (2.2-5)
This is the first time that Seymour seems strange to us. What's so interesting is that his behavior hasn't changed at all since he was joking around with Sybil. While that sort behavior may be perfectly acceptable around children, it appears mad, or crazy, in the adult world.
Quote 2
Ask me something else, Sybil," he said. "That's a fine bathing suit you have on. If there's one thing I like, it's a blue bathing suit."
Sybil stared at him, then looked down at her protruding stomach. "This is a yellow," she said. "This is a yellow."
"It is? Come a little closer." Sybil took a step forward. "You're absolutely right. What a fool I am." (20.20-22)
At this point, we know that Seymour is mentally unstable because of Muriel's conversation with her mother. So all his comments to Sybil leave us guessing: is he really unstable, or just playfully joking with this little girl?
Quote 3
"Yes. Yes, I do," said the young man. "What I like particularly about her is that she never does anything mean to little dogs in the lobby of the hotel. That little toy bull that belongs to that lady from Canada, for instance. You probably won't believe this, but some little girls like to poke that little dog with balloon sticks. Sharon doesn't. She's never mean or unkind. That's why I like her so much."
Sybil was silent. (2.64-5)
Passages like this one can convince us of Seymour's sanity. He's clearly joking with Sybil, as any adult who is great with children might. He even takes an opportunity to reprimand her – if playfully – as an authoritative adult.
Quote 4
"I see you're looking at my feet," he said to her when the car was in motion.
"I beg your pardon?" said the woman.
"I said I see you're looking at my feet."
"I beg your pardon. I happened to be looking at the floor," said the woman, and faced the doors of the car. (2.2-5)
This is the first time that Seymour appears to us to be abnormal. What's so interesting is that his behavior hasn't changed at all since he was joking around with Sybil. While this behavior might be perfectly acceptable around children, it appears inappropriate in the adult world.
Quote 5
"The lady?" the young man brushed some sand out of his thin hair. "That's hard to say, Sybil. She may be in any one of a thousand places. At the hairdresser's. Having her hair dyed mink. Or making dolls for poor children, in her room." (2.20)
What does this tell us about Seymour's perception of his wife?
Quote 6
"Well, they swim into a hole where there's a lot of bananas. They're very ordinary-looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I've known some bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as seventy-eight bananas." He edged the float and its passenger a foot closer to the horizon. "Naturally, after that they're so fat they can't get out of the hole again. Can't fit through the door." (2.35)
Some critics have claimed that this metaphor refers to the way humans gorge themselves on material pleasures. We'll talk about this more in "What's Up with the Title?"
Quote 7
"The lady?" the young man brushed some sand out of his thin hair. "That's hard to say, Sybil. She may be in any one of a thousand places. At the hairdresser's. Having her hair dyed mink. Or making dolls for poor children, in her room." (2.20)
This passage reminds us that Seymour and Muriel are never actually together at any point in this story – until Seymour's death at the end.
Quote 8
Lying prone now, he made two fists, set one on top of the other, and rested his chin on the top one. "Ask me something else, Sybil," he said. (2.20)
Seymour is desperate to make a connection with Sybil. His interactions with her constitute the only real relationship he has in this story.
Quote 9
"Sybil," he said, "you're looking fine. It's good to see you. Tell me about yourself." He reached in front of him and took both of Sybil's ankles in his hands. "I'm Capricorn," he said. "What are you?" (2.26)
Do you think that Seymour's conversation with Sybil borders on the flirtatious?
Quote 10
"I was sitting there, playing. And you were nowhere in sight. And Sharon Lipschutz came over and sat down next to me. I couldn't push her off, could I?"
"Yes."
"Oh, no. No. I couldn't do that," said the young man. "I'll tell you what I did do, though."
"What?"
"I pretended she was you." (2.30-34)
Seymour's conversation with Sybil alternates between adult flirtation and child-like jokes.