Franny and Zooey
OCLC 68569936 | | |
Preceded by | Nine Stories | |
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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/.[1] 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 focus of Salinger's writings.
Franny tells the story of Franny Glass, Zooey's sister, a college student. The story takes place in an unnamed college town during Franny's weekend visit to her boyfriend Lane. Disenchanted with the selfishness and inauthenticity she perceives all around her, she aims to escape it through spiritual means.
Zooey is set shortly after the events of Franny in the Glass family apartment in New York City's Upper East Side. While actor Zooey's younger sister Franny suffers a spiritual and existential breakdown in their parents' Manhattan living room, leaving their mother Bessie deeply concerned, Zooey comes to Franny's aid, offering what he thinks is brotherly love, understanding, and words of sage advice.
Plot summary
Franny
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 appears interested only 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 excuses herself to visit the restroom, where, after a nervous breakdown, she regains her composure.
Franny returns to the table, where she expresses her feeling of being troubled with egotism and the need to be accomplished. Lane then spots the small book that Franny has been carrying and asks her about it. She explains that the book is titled
Zooey
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".
After Bessie leaves, Zooey gets dressed and goes to the living room, where he finds Franny on the sofa with their cat Bloomberg. He begins speaking with her and ends up upsetting Franny by claiming that her motives for reciting the "Jesus Prayer" are rooted in ego reinforcement. Zooey feels guilty and retreats into the former bedroom of Seymour and Buddy, and reads the back of their door, covered in philosophical and religious quotations. After contemplation, Zooey telephones Franny, pretending to be Buddy. Franny eventually discovers the ruse, but she and Zooey continue to talk. Zooey shares with her some words of wisdom that Seymour once gave him, suggesting that one should live with optimism and love because, even if nobody else does, Jesus notices. After Zooey hangs up, Franny lies in their parents' bed and smiles at the ceiling before eventually falling asleep.
Major themes
The story reflects Salinger's known interest in Eastern religious philosophies such as
Original publication
The book is a reworking from "Ivanoff, the Terrible" (1956).[5]
"Franny" and Zooey were originally published separately in The New Yorker magazine. "Franny" appeared in the magazine in the January 29, 1955 issue, and Zooey in the May 4, 1957 issue. 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.
Since the misconception that Franny was pregnant was nearly universal at the time of original publication (the New Yorker’s editors themselves believed Franny was pregnant), Salinger first edited the text before reconsidering, torn between his annoyance at the notion readers might interpret the story through the lens of a pregnant Franny on one hand, and his reluctance of delivering clear-cut messages on the other. In the end, he made only a single change; having Lane Coutell say "Too goddam long between drinks. To put it crassly," in the hope this was seen as a reference to sex rather than menstruation. According to the Salinger scholar Warren French,[6] the change was insufficient.[7][8]
Reception
The book was very popular with the reading public, spending 26 weeks at the top of
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.[13]
The book plays a central role in the 2016 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
References
- ^ Busis, Hillary (February 10, 2010). "Franny and Who-ey?". Slate. The Slate Group.
- ^ Elizabeth, N. K. (1987). "Salinger and the Hindu View of Life". Indian Journal of American Studies. American Studies Research Centre.
- ^ Dunn, Jennifer (2006). "Literary Contexts in Novels: J. D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey"". Understanding Literature -- Literary Contexts in Novels. Great Neck Publishing. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- JSTOR 1207381.
- ^ "Library exhibit offers glimpse into Salinger's life and work". ABC News. October 18, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ French, Warren (November 25, 2010). "J.D. Salinger". Salinger in Context.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-6951-4.
- ^ French, Warren (1963). J. D. Salinger. New York: Twayne. p. 139.
- ISBN 978-0-898-15484-9.
- ^ Updike, John (September 17, 1961). "'Franny and Zooey' by J.D. Salinger". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- ^ Malcolm, Janet (June 21, 2001). "Justice to J.D. Salinger". The New York Review of Books.
- ^ Mcinerney, Jay (February 2011). "J. D. Salinger's Love and Squalor". The New York Times Review of Books. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-748-64654-8.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-316-76954-1.
External links
- Pari (at IMDB): An Iranian movie, unauthorized adaptation of Franny and Zooey and A Perfect Day for Bananafish.
- Franny and Zooey summaries found on Literapedia
- Yale English lecture on Franny and Zooey