Two Stories Of Franny And Zooey example essay topic

While everyone knows about Catcher, not many have read this other classic by J.D. Salinger. Franny and Zooey is a story about Franny Glass, a young college girl and her brother Zooey, an actor in his middle 20's. Like The Catcher in the Rye, a theme in this book is questioning people and the World Franny finds a new religious idea, which starts her wondering about life and what she should do with hers. As everyone knows, that is very complicated stuff to question, and it spawns a mini-breakdown. J.D. Salinger attacks the universal theme of putting aside preconceptions and egos and getting back into the childlike innocence by showing the two stories of Franny and Zooey as well as the concept of the fat lady. Away at school, Franny begins to have doubts about the meaning of life. Franny rebels from this education by taking on the Jesus Prayer.

She becomes absorbed in herself and ends up judging even Jesus from The Bible. It is this misinterpretation of her newly learned religion that leads to the tenth rate nervous breakdown, and the rejection of society as a whole. Franny has a tenth rate nervous breakdown because she was involving herself too deeply in the religion, and would not come out of it to see the world. Franny is so obsessed with this new religion, her trip to the bathroom in Sickles diner is described, "as though it were a rendezvous point of some kind... ". (5) because she could read the little green book.

It was overpowering her, and it quickly became dangerous. On her way to the bathroom for a second time, "She weaved a trifle, then fainted, collapsing to the floor". (6) This religion is so powerful that it is causing Franny health to disintegrate. But was the prayer the cause of her breakdown, or vice versa The second story, Zooey begins with a hilarious scene of Zooey trying to take a bath with his mother constantly interrupting him. They are both worried sick over Franny, who is asleep in the living room, but they have markedly different approaches to handling the situation. Zooey is forever the comic, hiding his concern behind a string of witticisms and insults.

But he has been down the same path as Franny before, and tries to use his experiences to help her. He blames Franny's breakdown, and some of his own problems, on their two oldest brothers. His more simple-minded mother, however, doesn't understand what her children are going through, but her love for them is clear. Zooey goes through the process of learning to set aside the discrepancies similar to Franny. It took Zooey four years to figure out what the letter from Buddy meant, and four years to figure out that he should stop putting so much importance on the differences in people. The letter had been. ".. unfolded and refolded on too many private occasions during the four years... was actually torn in several places, mostly along the creases...

". (7) In this letter to Zooey, Buddy also tells Zooey of a time in the grocery store talking to a little girl: I told her she was about the prettiest little girl Id seen all day... she nodded... I asked her how many boy friends she had. She held up two fingers. "Two!" I said.

"That's a lot of boy friends. What are their names sweetheart" Said she, in a piercing voice, "Bobby and Dorothy". (8) This episode is an example of the primary message in the text. The little girl at the counter does not know the differences between boys and girls. This is symbolic for all the differences in the world: religious beliefs, race, and sexual reference name a few.

Children possess an innocence that is unique only to them. They are careless of whom they associate, and are indifferent of what a persons beliefs are. This childlike innocence is what is essential in finding the true advantages of a religion, as well as the prevention of turning the religion into a deadly weapon. In the end, Zooey tries to bring Franny around with a deep discussion of his philosophy of religion, the meaning of life, and the Fat Lady. The fat lady is a fine example of the universality of suffering in all religions and walks of life. Zooey is trying to show Franny that everyone suffers, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Saying the prayer is her choice - it may be one possible way of finding answers. However, Zooey feels that she happens to be going about the prayer the wrong way and in the wrong place. (Scolds her for bothering Bessie and Les) As such, he introduces the fat lady story, while playing the role of Buddy (sensible enlightened Buddy), to show her that the prayer may not be the end all answer she has made it into (the story about when she found out Jesus considered fish and birds lower beings and contradicted her Eastern education.) Saying that the fat lady is Jesus seems to point out that the prayer isn't exactly what Franny wants to be doing - she needs to embrace things like the professor with ruffled hair rather than be upset by them. Interestingly, Zooey came to this conclusion and thought of the fat lady story while in Buddy and Seymour's old room. As Salinger says, if you need a reason to do something, do it for the fat lady. Such lack in awareness is the hidden message of J.D. Salinger Franny and Zooey.

Written in the current era, the work introduces us to Franny Glass, a young woman who was forced to deal with the central issue involving the ego and its relationship to religion. Franny nearly drove herself to insanity with a misinterpretation of the religious message her older brothers Seymour and Buddy taught her. By misinterpreting "The Jesus Prayer", Franny fails to see the difference between her own ego and those of other people in her society. In Franny and Zooey the sense that letting go of your ego is a large step in the right direction when trying to return to the nature of a child. Restoring the childlike qualities are precisely what Franny needed to do and she was absorbing herself in the little green book, entangling herself in her ego, which was quickly becoming inescapable. As religion is so powerful, the understanding of it and what it is trying to teach is crucial to all who attempt to accept it.

Franny did not understand the power of the Jesus Prayer. It almost ruined her life beyond repair. The message remains the same. It is a timeless and universal message that is being laid out for us. Setting aside preconceptions will allow one to further free oneself from their ego, and view other positions objectively; in turn allowing for a greater understanding of the world and its religions, basically telling us to return to our childlike innocence and remove the filters that prevent us from forgetting about the differences.