Nine Stories Summary

Nine Stories Plot Summary

Covers the whole plot, including the ending.

1. A Perfect Day for Bananafish

   Muriel Glass, a self-centered young woman, is vacationing in Florida with her husband Seymour. She spends much of her time on the phone with her mother, discussing Seymour's odd behavior, his mental state, and recent troubling events, like him driving into a tree and making inappropriate comments. Muriel's mother worries about Seymour and his army discharge. Meanwhile, Seymour meets Sybil Carpenter, a young girl, on the beach. They have an innocent, playful talk about 'bananafish' – a creature that eats too many bananas until it cannot leave its hole. After swimming, Seymour returns to his hotel room, where Muriel is asleep, and shoots himself.

2. Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut

   Eloise and Mary Jane, two former college roommates, spend a drunken afternoon together at Eloise's suburban home in Connecticut. Eloise, now unhappily married to Lew and a mother to a young daughter named Ramona, misses her past love, Walt Glass, who died in the war. She idealizes Walt and their time together, comparing it to her current dull and unsatisfying life. Mary Jane mostly listens, sometimes making cynical remarks. Eloise's bitterness and anger show often, especially about her daughter Ramona's imaginary friend, Jimmy Jimmereeno, whom she keeps confusing with Walt. The story shows Eloise's deep grief and her inability to move past her idealized youth, holding onto memories of a love cut short, while ignoring her current life.

3. Just Before the War with the Eskimos

   Ginnie Mann-Finch, a wealthy teenage girl, visits her friend Selena Graff's apartment in New York City after a tennis match. The visit is tense from the start, mostly because of a taxi fare argument where Selena refused to split the cost evenly. While waiting for Selena to get ready, Ginnie talks with Selena's older brother, Franklin, a cynical and intellectual young man recently discharged from the army. Franklin talks to Ginnie in uncomfortable and probing ways, discussing his experiences, his disillusionment, and offering her a sandwich. He shares a story about a friend, Eric, who died, and gives her Eric's photo. The encounter leaves Ginnie feeling exposed and confused, showing the difference between her protected upbringing and Franklin's raw, post-war cynicism. The story explores class, innocence, and the harsh realities of adulthood.

4. The Laughing Man

   The story is told by a nine-year-old boy who admires his baseball coach, John Gedratus, a law student. John supervises a group of boys, including the narrator, after school and tells them an ongoing story about 'The Laughing Man,' a masked, disfigured superhero who lives in the woods and fights crime. The boys are fascinated by the tales. John is also in a relationship with a beautiful, wealthy girl named Mary Hudson. The narrator observes John's relationship with Mary, noting their arguments and reconciliations. One day, after a particularly intense argument with Mary, John abruptly and brutally kills off The Laughing Man in the middle of a story session, leaving the boys shocked and sad. The sudden, violent end to the character reflects John's own emotional turmoil and the shattering of the narrator's innocent world.

5. Down at the Dinghy

   Boo Boo Tannenbaum, a member of the Glass family, finds that her young son, Lionel, has run away from their summer home. She finds him hiding in a dinghy by the lake, refusing to come out. Lionel is upset because he heard the housemaid, Sandra, call his father, Webb, a 'kike.' Boo Boo, trying to comfort him, invents a story about a 'Commander in Chief' who needs to go on a secret mission in the dinghy. She tries to explain away Sandra's comment, gently telling Lionel that the maid is 'crazy' and does not understand. Boo Boo's efforts balance protecting Lionel's innocence with acknowledging the harsh realities he is beginning to see. The story highlights the challenges of parenting and how children are exposed to prejudice, and Boo Boo's loving attempt to shield her son.

6. For Esmé – with Love and Squalor

   The story is told by an American soldier, Sergeant X, recovering in Devon, England, during World War II. He recalls an earlier meeting with a bright and charming thirteen-year-old English girl named Esmé, who is at choir practice. Esmé, with her younger brother Charles, approaches X and talks with him about the war, her father's recent death, and her goal to become a concert singer. She asks X to write her a story, specifically 'one with a great deal of squalor.' Later, X is in Germany, suffering from severe combat fatigue and a nervous breakdown. He receives a package containing a letter from Esmé and her late father's watch. Her letter, and the unexpected gift, give him a deep sense of peace and a renewed ability to feel, pulling him back from despair. The story shows how human connection and innocence can heal trauma.

7. Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes

   Arthur, a lawyer, receives a late-night phone call from his friend and colleague, Lee. Lee is deeply upset and confesses that he has just had an affair with a woman, whom he describes in vivid, almost poetic detail, emphasizing her 'pretty mouth and green my eyes.' The conversation is fragmented and emotional. Arthur, at first trying to be supportive, slowly realizes that Lee's description matches Arthur's own wife, Joanie. The tension builds as Arthur tries to guide the conversation, offering to meet Lee, while Lee continues his confession, seemingly unaware (or perhaps deliberately ignorant) of the woman's identity. The story is a raw look at betrayal, guilt, and the complex, often unspoken aspects of friendship and marriage, showing the devastating impact of infidelity through one agonizing phone call.

8. De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period

   The story is told by Jean de Daumier-Smith, a nineteen-year-old aspiring artist in New York City. He is full of artistic ambition and a romantic view of his own talent and suffering. He takes a job responding to students' submissions for a correspondence art school, pretending to be a seasoned Parisian artist. Among the submissions, he finds a moving and authentic watercolor by a nun, Sister Irma, from a convent in Quebec. Daumier-Smith is deeply touched by her work, recognizing real talent and spirituality. He writes her an impassioned, long letter, breaking the school's rules, urging her to pursue her art. He later learns that Sister Irma has left the convent and married. This news shatters his romantic ideas about her and his own role as a mentor, forcing him to face the complexities of reality versus his idealized artistic world. The story is a coming-of-age narrative about artistic integrity, disillusionment, and the search for meaning.

9. Teddy

   Teddy McArdle, a ten-year-old prodigy with an extraordinary intellect and spiritual insight, is traveling on an ocean liner with his parents and younger sister, Booper. He talks deeply about philosophy with a fellow passenger, Nicholson, a writer. Teddy calmly explains his beliefs in reincarnation, his past lives, and his expectation of his own death, which he foresees happening that day by falling into a swimming pool. He criticizes Western education and the limits of language in showing spiritual truths. His parents largely miss the depth of his thoughts, often treating him as a curiosity or an annoyance. The story ends with Teddy going to the swimming pool with Booper. The narrative finishes ambiguously with a scream, suggesting his prophecy has come true, leaving the reader to think about genius, spirituality, and the tragic fragility of life.

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