Knowledge Builders

what is the theme of franny and zooey

by Orrin Zulauf Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

Love is a subtle theme in Franny and Zooey; there is no discussion of it explicitly aside from the narrator's cryptic claim that his story "Zooey" is in fact a love story rather than a mystical story. The theme does come cross implicitly in Zooey and Franny's discussion of spirituality.

Full Answer

What is the moral of the story Franny and Zooey?

It is this concurrent lesson of Franny and Zooey that makes the narrator, Buddy Glass, comment that the story is about love as much as it is about spirituality--for what this doctrine asks of its subscribers is love for all humanity. Love is also a crucial element in the family relationships in Franny and Zooey.

What is the main idea of Franny by JD Salinger?

The book focuses on siblings Franny and Zooey, the two youngest members of the Glass family, which was a frequent focus of Salinger's writings. "Franny" tells the story of Franny Glass, Zooey's sister, undergraduate at a small liberal arts college, probably Wellesley College.

When was Franny and Zooey published?

Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey /ˈzoʊ.iː/. The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957 respectively.

What is the plot of the book Franny?

"Franny" tells the story of Franny Glass, Zooey's sister, undergraduate at a small liberal arts college. The story takes place in an unnamed college town during Franny's weekend visit to her boyfriend Lane.

image

What does the ending of Franny and Zooey mean?

In the conclusion of Franny and Zooey, Franny effectively resolves her crisis. As Zooey finishes speaking, we read that "for joy, apparently, it was all Franny could do to hold the phone, even with both hands" (Zooey. 8.78).

Is Franny and Zooey a true story?

First published in The New Yorker as two sequential stories, 'Franny' and 'Zooey' offer a dual portrait of the two youngest members of J. D. Salinger's fictional Glass family. Franny Glass is a pretty, effervescent college student on a date with her intellectually confident boyfriend, Lane.

Why does Franny have breakdown?

Throughout the book Franny and Zooey by J.D Salinger, Franny goes through a mental breakdown caused by the stress in her life such as school, acting and relationships. Through all that she was losing her true identity and began to take things very personal even though they weren't intended that way.

Why does Franny faint in Franny and Zooey?

She finds herself drawn to mysticism and prayer—in particular the so-called Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a miserable sinner." The conflict between her desire to conform and her spiritual inclinations finally causes Franny to faint in the midst of lunch with Lane.

What is the plot of Franny and Zooey?

Plot summary The short story concerns Franny's weekend date with her collegiate boyfriend, Lane Coutell. Lane takes her to a fashionable lunch room, where Franny quickly becomes exasperated when he only appears interested in conversing about the minutiae of his academic frustrations.

What should I read after Franny and Zooey?

Franny and Zooey's struggles (and their feelings about their lost brothers) just make more sense following on from stories like For Esme and Bananafish. They also have to be understood, as Humean pointed out, as works overshadowed by the author's own terrible experiences in the war.

Is Zooey Glass a boy?

Zachary Martin "Zooey" Glass (born 1929): Title character of Zooey, in which he is 25 years old. He is an actor, and (according to himself) the most attractive of all the children. Zooey also says that he and Buddy were "too clever" for their own good.

What level is Franny and Zooey?

ATOS Book Level:6.3Interest Level:Upper Grades (UG 9-12)AR Points:8.0Rating:Not yet rated.Word Count:502493 more rows

What is the Jesus Prayer Franny and Zooey?

The prayer that Franny ultimately engages in, the "Jesus prayer," is a response to her frustrations with her society and culture. Franny wants to purify her spirit because she feels that she has been corrupted by the conformity, destructiveness, and ego of her world.

Is Franny Glass pregnant?

Rather than further evaluating “Franny,” critics lost interest in her crisis once they came to the conclusion that she was not pregnant. Relating to Franny through her biology is problematic in that it fails to tackle the character herself.

Is there a Franny and Zooey movie?

Franny and Zooey (Short 2018) - IMDb.

We Are All the Fat Lady

The concept that everyone is the "fat lady" isn't explicitly introduced until the very end of Franny and Zooey. Nevertheless, the message informs the entire book.

Burden of Genius

Franny and Zooey are so accomplished that it's hard to see what's making them so unhappy. But their brilliance makes them feel as though they're unfit to live in the real world, with ordinary people.

Wise Little Girls

Keenly observant and sensitive children frequently play an important part in Salinger 's fiction. Franny and Zooey contains three instances in which a little girl teaches an important lesson.

Who is the author of Franny and Zooey?

Franny and Zooey. Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey / ˈzoʊ.iː /. The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957 respectively. The book focuses on siblings Franny and Zooey, ...

How many stories are there in Franny and Zooey?

Nine Stories. Followed by. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey / ˈzoʊ.iː /. The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 ...

What is the book "Franny" about?

"Franny" tells the story of Franny Glass, Zooey's sister, undergraduate at a small liberal arts college, probably Wellesley College. The story takes place in an unnamed college town during Franny's weekend ...

What does Bessie say about Zooey?

During the conversation, Zooey verbally spars and banters with his mother and repeatedly requests that she leave. Bessie tolerates Zooey's behavior, and simply states that he's becoming more and more like his brother Buddy and wonders what has happened to her children that were once so "sweet and loving".

What is Zooey's brother's name?

Zooey reads a four-year-old letter from his brother Buddy in the bath in his family's home. In the letter, Buddy discusses their eldest brother Seymour's suicide several years previously, and encourages Zooey to pursue an acting career if he is drawn to it. Zooey's mother, Bessie, enters the bathroom, and the two have a long discussion, centering upon Bessie's worries about his sister, Franny, who is in a state of emotional collapse and is refusing food. During the conversation, Zooey verbally spars and banters with his mother and repeatedly requests that she leave. Bessie tolerates Zooey's behavior, and simply states that he's becoming more and more like his brother Buddy and wonders what has happened to her children that were once so "sweet and loving".

Who said the phoney and the genuine equally deserve our love?

Carl Bode, in a University of Wisconsin journal, suggested that Salinger, while writing in Franny and Zooey that “the phoney and the genuine equally deserve our love”, found this as an answer to some of his own emotional problems.

Where is Zooey set?

Zooey is set shortly after "Franny" in the Glass family apartment in New York City's Upper East Side.

What is the story of Zooey and Franny about?

Broadly, the stories can be said to be about the results of being famous children. More specifically, Franny and Zooey must decide whether or not to stay famous (as actors) or leave the pursuit of fame behind. Much of what sets off Franny's breakdown is her disenchantment with the experience she is having at college.

What is the lesson of Franny and Zooey?

It is this concurrent lesson of Franny and Zooey that makes the narrator, Buddy Glass, comment that the story is about love as much as it is about spirituality--for what this doctrine asks of its subscribers is love for all humanity. Love is also a crucial element in the family relationships in Franny and Zooey.

What sets off Franny's breakdown?

Much of what sets off Franny's breakdown is her disenchantment with the experience she is having at college. She hates both herself and others for the egotistical behavior and phony conformity in which they all engage. This theme is central to many of J. D. Salinger's works but takes a redemptive twist in Franny and Zooey: The author seems to acknowledge that even such people, with their huge egos and weak individual wills, should be admired and respected for their humanity, if nothing else.

Why does Zooey tell Franny they are a freak?

Zooey tells Franny that they have become "freaks" because their brothers taught them too much too young. But what their brothers taught also helps Franny out of her spiritual crisis. Through Seymour's lessons and Zooey's impression of Buddy's voice, Zooey channels enough support to talk Franny out of her distress.

What is the relationship between Franny and Zooey?

Love is also a crucial element in the family relationships in Franny and Zooey. In the Glass family, the children are much more gifted and intelligent than the parents. But the children keep reminding each other that their parents must be loved and respected for everything they are and everything they have given their children.

What is the spiritual breakdown of Franny Glass?

Through Franny Glass's spiritual breakdown, J. D. Salinger explores issues in not only mysticism and religion but also family, celebrity, education, and intellectualism. Of course, the religious themes are important: By the end of the "Zooey" section, Salinger seems to have arrived at a spiritual doctrine, to be followed by many of his characters.

Summary

Read a Plot Overview of the entire book or a story by story Summary and Analysis.

Quick Quizzes

Test your knowledge of Franny and Zooey with quizzes about every section, major characters, themes, symbols, and more.

Essays

Get ready to ace your Franny and Zooey paper with our suggested essay topics, helpful essays about historical and literary context, a sample A+ student essay, and more.

Further Study

Go further in your study of Franny and Zooey with background information, movie adaptations, and links to the best resources around the web.

image

Overview

Franny and Zooey is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella Zooey /ˈzoʊ.iː/. The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957 respectively. The book focuses on siblings Franny and Zooey, the two youngest members of the Glass family, which was a frequent fo…

Plot summary

The short story concerns Franny's weekend date with her collegiate boyfriend, Lane Coutell. Lane takes her to a fashionable lunch room, where Franny quickly becomes exasperated when he only appears interested in conversing about the minutiae of his academic frustrations. Franny questions the importance of college education and the worth of Lane's friends. She eats nothing, feels faint, and becomes progressively more uncomfortable talking to Lane. Eventually she excu…

Major themes

The story reflects Salinger's known interest in Eastern religious philosophy such as Zen Buddhism and Hindu Advaita Vedanta, as well as Eastern Orthodox Christian spirituality, particularly in a brief section in the second part that includes quotations from spiritual texts. There is also a discussion of whether the book is a "mystical story" or a "love story" in the introduction to the second section, as speculated by the book's narrator, Buddy Glass (who decides it's the latter). Gerald Rosen, in …

Original publication

The book is a reworking from "Ivanoff, the Terrible" (1956).
"Franny" and Zooey were originally published separately in The New Yorker magazine. "Franny" appeared in the magazine in January 1955, and Zooey in May 1957. Salinger published "Franny" and Zooey together as a book in July 1961, through Little, Brown and Company, and dedicated the book to New Yorker editor William Shawn.

Reception

The book was very popular with the reading public, spending 26 weeks at the top of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers list in 1961 and 1962, but critics gave it mixed reviews. John Updike felt that Salinger's work was more than adequate. He praised Salinger's characterizations, saying that they "melt indistinguishably together in an impossible radiance of personal beauty and intelligence". He also pointed out that Salinger has a "correctly unctuous and apprehensive tone"…

Adaptations and legacy

The 1995 Iranian film Pari is a loose adaptation of the book.
The book's characters inspired much of the child prodigy material present in Wes Anderson's 2001 movie The Royal Tenenbaums.
The book plays a central role in the 2019 film Carrie Pilby, as well as in the romance of the protagonists in the 2020 Netflix series Dash & Lily.

Release details

• 1961, United States, Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-76954-1, Hardback
• 1991, United States & Canada, Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-76949-5, Soft cover, Reprint

Bibliography

• Salinger, J.D. (1961). Franny and Zooey. Little, Brown. p. 201. ISBN 0-316-76954-1.

1.Franny and Zooey Themes | GradeSaver

Url:https://www.gradesaver.com/franny-and-zooey/study-guide/themes

35 hours ago The crux of Franny and Zooey is the Jesus Prayer Franny takes from the religious "Pilgrim" books. By incessantly praying to Jesus, the person who prays is endowed with "Christ-Consciousness," in Zooey's words, and can see God, in Franny's words. What Franny realizes only at the end of the novel, thanks to Zooey's wisdom, is that not only does one unite with Jesus through the prayer, …

2.Franny and Zooey Themes | Course Hero

Url:https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Franny-and-Zooey/themes/

12 hours ago Both he and his sister tend to write off vast swathes of humanity. Probably most psychoanalysts would agree that's due to depression, insecurity, and youth rather than genius, but Zooey and Franny don't yet realize it. It makes things harder that Zooey and Franny are perceptive enough to know they're snobs, and they feel guilty about it.

3.Franny and Zooey - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franny_and_zooey

20 hours ago While some critics believe that organized religion exists as the main theme of Franny and Zooey, others claim that personal spirituality, with its failures and its successes, dominates. The theme...

4.Videos of What Is The Theme Of Franny and Zooey

Url:/videos/search?q=what+is+the+theme+of+franny+and+zooey&qpvt=what+is+the+theme+of+franny+and+zooey&FORM=VDRE

35 hours ago It is this concurrent lesson of Franny and Zooey that makes the narrator, Buddy Glass, comment that the story is about love as much as it is about spirituality--for what this doctrine asks of its subscribers is love for all humanity. Love is also a crucial element in the family relationships in Franny and Zooey.

5.Franny and Zooey Themes - eNotes.com

Url:https://www.enotes.com/topics/franny-zooey/themes

15 hours ago This two-part book focuses on two siblings in a large family, and through their experiences, the audience is exposed to the dynamics of the whole family. Family influences who a …

6.Franny and Zooey Overall Analysis and Themes Summary …

Url:https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/franny/section7/

15 hours ago While some critics believe that organized religion exists as the main theme of Franny and Zooey, others claim that personal spirituality, with its failures and its successes, dominates. The theme of the American family exists throughout, offering a framework on which discussion of spirituality and religion hang.

7.What are some themes in "Franny and Zooey" …

Url:https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-some-themes-franny-zooey-by-j-d-salinger-27421

1 hours ago Franny and Zooey: Theme Analysis. Alienation and Loss of Innocence. Because of the trauma of World War II, the philosophy of existentialism is pervasive in the literature of the 1940s and 1950s, whether or not it is explicitly embraced by the author. The human condition was seen as one of alienation from God, from oneself, and from other people.

8.Franny and Zooey: Study Guide | SparkNotes

Url:https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/franny/

26 hours ago Franny and Zooey is a novel by J. D. Salinger that was first published in 1961. Summary Read a Plot Overview of the entire book or a story by story Summary and Analysis.

9.The Predicament of Youth in J. D. Salinger's Franny ‎and …

Url:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359284599_The_Predicament_of_Youth_in_J_D_Salinger's_Franny_and_Zooey

16 hours ago The theme of alienation is revealed through the important incidents in "Franny" and "Zooey". The alienation of Franny shows the specific cases of the sensitive human being toward the real world ...

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9