Franny and Zooey
Salinger, J. D. Franny and Zooey,1955, 1957,1961. New York.
In this narrative, Franny and Zooey are siblings who do not understand one another. They are the youngest, though Zooey is older the Franny they struggle to keep a close relationship due to their differences. The story continues when Franny returns home from school and is faced to live with her mother, Bessie, and Zooey. We, as readers, soon discover the tension in the household and what is really going on with Franny. She becomes attached to a book that she carries around with her everywhere. She is so stressed out from her family finding out about her beliefs that she becomes indulged in the life of having an eating disorder. We soon discover that the book she has been carrying with her is about prayer. She tells Zooey about her new belief and he disagrees with her. He thinks its crazy for her to believe in something, he thinks does not exist. He looks at prayer like a waste of time.
Franny finally sticks up for herself and tells him "I rather belief in peace and enlightenment over fame and prestige." Zooey then realizes that maybe his sister has the right to believe in what she wants and pretends to call her, acting as his brother Seymour, to tell her to become an actress if she wants to act. Reading between the lines, we can tell that he is telling Franny to believe in what she desires and he will approve of her either way. Controlling Value: "McKee sees the controlling idea as that which describes “how and why life undergoes change from one condition of existence at the beginning to another at the end” (115). Itself structured as a “value plus cause,” McKee’s controlling idea “identifies the positive or negative charge of the story’s critical value at the last act’s climax, and it identifies the chief reason that this value has changed to its final state” (115). During the course of this class, I struggled to understand what controlling values were and how they were represented in texts. After reading "Franny and Zooey," I was able to break down the text by purpose and context, to find out how the controlling value was represented in the text. During this story Franny struggles with finding her own identity, while Zooey struggles with accepting his sister for who she is. Throughout the story both siblings struggle with the relationship with their mother, Bessie. In Zooeys's section of the reading, the second part of the story, the readers learn about his character and his hardships at home. In the text we discover his misunderstanding of Franny's infatuation with the book of prayer, -"Zooey's eyes were on her, and had been. I want to ask you something, Franny." He turned back to the writing table surface again, frowned, and gave the snowman a shake. What do you think you are doing with the Jesus Prayer?" (Franny and Zooey 146). -" May I interrupt you now, Zooey? I know all you're saying. You're not telling me one thing I haven't thought of by myself. You're saying I want something from the Jesus Prayer-which makes me just as acquisitive, in your word, really, as somebody who want a stable coat, or to be famous, or to be dripping with some kind of crazy prestige. I know all that! My gosh, what kind of an imbecile do you think I am? the tremor in her voice amounted now almost to an impediment" (Franny and Zooey 148). In this text we see the characters pronouncing a context, without any means of resolution. The characters, although siblings living in the same house together, are unlike one another. Register: "The first register is “concrete versus/and abstract” language. At one end of the spectrum of this register, concrete language use calls for very precise particularities. At the other end of the spectrum we find wide generalities that often lack any real content." This story was told from a third person narrator. I was able to see both Franny and Zooey from their own perspectives. In Franny's section of the reading I was able to read about her concise beliefs and her struggles as a young woman. She endured family struggles, boyfriend struggles, and body issues. These few problems are ones that most young adult women face from time to time so it made her section easier to read and relate to. Zooey's section of the reading, was different from Franny's section. Zooey was more about his relationship with Franny and Bessie. He struggled with the idea of his brothers being gone and living with his mother. Zooey's perspective was focused on the struggles Franny faced within herself. He focused on how he can help change her and her beliefs. The two perspectives gave helpful insight on who the characters were by situation. the narrator did not use description in the text to describe Franny or Zooey. Both characters were able to form an identity through dialogue and how they reacted to different situations. A parallel can be drawn between these character's and their conflicts. Zooey's conflict is more about dealing with himself, and pushing away others. Franny's conflict is also dealing with herself, but in the sense of fighting for what she believes in. Salinger compares the characters amongst one another without stating the facts. Franny and Zooey appear to be total opposites, but if you read from an outward standpoint you can see they are both struggling to fit in and be who they want to be. There is a balance in this story concernig these two characters, especiailly how they treat their mother who seems to care for them a lot. It was odd to see how they both just shrugged off their mother and her opinions so easily. It made me think about myself and my own relationships with my family. The ending to this narrative should progress between Franny and Zooey and how their relationship has potential to grow stronger. This story raised many questions for me when I began reading it. I was confused about how Franny started off, because the setting put her on a date with Lane, and then next thing you know shes crying in the bathroom holding this book to her chest which we later find out is her book of prayer. Was she praying in the bathroom? And if so, what what she praying about? When Zooey's chapter began, he seemed like a difficult character to understand. He was cold, and nasty to his family. He seemed unhappy and looking for a something to fill a void. It was not until the end of the story, that I discovered the controlling idea in the text, and that it was that both siblings want to make each other happy. |