“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” is a story of isolation that is exemplified by a common problem among its characters: communication. Muriel and her mother’s phone conversation, Seymour’s actions and interactions with other characters, and the lack of interaction between Seymour and Muriel illustrate the difficulty and lack of communication. This reoccurring struggle supports and contributes to the theme of isolation, in particular Seymour isolating himself from normal society. By looking at how the character struggle with talking and connecting with one another, we can better understand the how and why Seymour separates himself.

The story starts off with a phone call between Muriel and her mother, but it is hardly a conversation; the dialogue is haphazard and jumpy, quickly switching from topic to topic and never really going in-depth on any subject.

"I tried to get you last night and the night before. The phone here's been--"

 "Are you all right, Muriel?"

 The girl increased the angle between the receiver and her ear. "I'm fine. I'm hot. This is the hottest day they've had in Florida in--"

 "Why haven't you called me? I've been worried to--" 

"Mother, darling, don't yell at me. I can hear you beautifully," said the girl. "I called you twice last night. Once just after--"

 "I told your father you'd probably call last night. But, no, he had to-Are you all right, Muriel? Tell me the truth."

 "I'm fine. Stop asking me that, please."  

The mother keeps interrupting Muriel, asking if she is really fine and is not really listening to her daughter’s assurances.  Muriel ignores her mother’s concerns and switches to lighter topics like the hot weather or the fashion. This lack of listening and communication illustrates the shallowness of Muriel’s thinking and how unaware and oblivious she is of the severity of Seymour’s mental state. She does not understand, or refuses to see, how disturbed Seymour is, though if this is the cause of the lack of communication or the symptom of it is arguable. 

Seymour has difficulty in properly communicating within normal society; instead he seeks to be by himself, playing the piano or lying on the beach, or hanging out with children. Seymour not fitting in with normal people and preferring to be by himself is an obvious example of him isolating himself. His interaction with the child, Sybil, is the only real communication we see between Seymour and another character, and most of the dialogue consists of childlike chatter and the story of the bananafish. The only other dialogue Seymour has with another character is with the woman in the elevator, in which Seymour is complaining about the woman looking at his feet. This brief and odd interaction not only shows how Seymour has trouble in fitting in with normal adults, but also how he does not want to be seen by others. The woman gets out of the elevator, an example of how Seymour is able to repel people, to push them away, and isolate himself from normal society.

Even though they are married and should be rather close, Seymour and Muriel have an incredible lack of communication. They do not have any dialogue in the story, which is hugely important because it shows how isolated Seymour has become. Muriel does not know what is going on and she does not understand the severity of Seymour’s mental state, while Seymour is not putting effort into communicating or explaining himself to her. The biggest effort Seymour makes is when he gives Muriel a book of poetry:

“[H]e asked me about it, when we were driving down. He wanted to know if I'd read it."

 "It was in German!"

 "Yes, dear. That doesn't make any difference," said the girl, crossing her legs. "He said that the poems happen to be written by the only great poet of the century. He said I should've bought a translation or something. Or learned the language, if you please."

By giving her a book in a language she does not understand, it is shown that Seymour does not want to be understood. He is isolating himself from Muriel by making communication between the two of them very difficult if not impossible. Of course, it could also show that Muriel was not putting enough effort into trying to communicate and understand him. But Seymour does not want to be understood, he does not want Muriel to really see what is going on inside his head, otherwise he would just talk to her. The only form of communication we see between the two of them is when Seymour commits suicide at the end of the story. While it is not dialogue, it is still a type of communication and it is the thing that truly isolates Seymour forever. 

 