Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger. Cycle 21 Reading Response, Pages 164-201

Zooey and Franny's conversation ends, for Franny, in tears and for Zooey, leaving the room. He goes into Seymour and Buddy's room for the first time in years. Franny is left in the living room with Mrs. Glass's declined offers of chicken soup. Buddy calls to talk to Franny. They talk about Franny's situation, and Franny complains to him about her conversation with Zooey earlier that day. It turns out to be Zooey, calling pretending to be Buddy. 

contrition: "...with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition." (p. 171) noun, the state of feeling remorseful and penitent

idiom: "...that Zooey had, in the ready-made dramatic idiom," (p. 174) noun, a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words

beaverboard: "...a sheet of what had once been snow-white beaverboard..." (p. 174) noun, a kind of fiberboard used in building

unribaldly: "...Pascal had been unribaldly bedded down with Emily Dickinson..." (p. 175) adverb, no definition found. Synonymous guesses: undoubtedly? apparently? figuratively?

sinewy: "...all her brothers had overly vibrant, not to say sinewy, voices on the telephone." (p. 187) adj, like pieces of tought fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone, tendous or ligamentlike

ballast: "The cigars are ballast, sweetheart. Sheer ballast." (p. 191) noun, heavy material, such as gravel, sand, iron, or lead, placed low in a vessel to improve its stability

After reading The Catcher in the Rye, I fell in love with J.D. Salinger's writing. This was why I chose to read this book. I love the way he crafts his sentences, scattering commas and conjunctions in places where they may not be grammatically correct, but they create voice and flow that fits the story and the author. His writing style and subject matter are subtle. While each word and each interaction are carefully chosen, then crafted into the story. The words he chooses reflect the voice. It isn't over the top, but where commas are placed and when syllables are italicized, I can hear how the phrase would have sounded as the characters were speaking. Then, there are the ideas. The way things are phrased seem to fit the characters, and convey the core message. At the culmination, all the things that have seemingly been thrown in throughout come together and make sense as Salinger craftily ends the story. For this reading response, I am going to collect my favorite quotes from this passage. 

"In an instant, he turned pale -- pale with anxiety for Franny's condition, and pale, presumably, because failure had suddenly filled the room with its invariably sickening smell. The color of his pallor, however, was curiously basic white -- unmixed, that is, with the greens and yellows of guilt or abject contrition. It was like the standard bloodlessness in the face of a small boy who loves animals to distraction, all animals, and who has just seen his favorite, bunny-loving sister's expression as she opened the box containing his birthday present to her -- a freshly caught young cobra, with a red ribbon tied in an awkward bow around its neck." (p. 171) J.D. Salinger could have just said that he turned pale, and left it at that. But there are so many different shades of pale. Each shade represents something different. He could have described only in shades of color, but he did not. He also related it to different scenarios, which reflects the situation that this is used in, the ending of Franny and Zooey's conversation. The gift reflects what Zooey is saying to Franny. He means well and he is trying to help her, just like the little boy giving his sister the present. Just like when the boy sees his sister's expression upon opening the present, Zooey sees how unhelpful his talk with Franny was when she breaks down, crying. The boy feels guilty about his present, and this description suggests to the reader that Zooey also feels guilty, at least a little bit, about what he said. 

"If he didn't have a cigar to hold on to, his feet would leave the ground. We'd never see our Zooey again." (p. 191) This is something that "Buddy" says to Franny. We then find out that it was actually Zooey. After Franny complains that Zooey is always smoking a cigar, this is what he says. While it's doubtful that the cigar actually holds Zooey down, it may figuratively. Maybe the cigar is the thing that keeps him grounded and in reality. This is an example of a witty and insightful thing that Zooey says. Before, he was unknowingly tearing Franny down. Maybe he did know, but now he feels bad. His self-depreciation is done to try to make Franny feel better. Maybe it is done to equalize them. Franny was just brought down, and now, with these sentences, Zooey is being brought somewhat down as well. This could be long and poetic, describing how Zooey would float above like the smoke from the cigar, swirling around in the air until he disappears, but its sharpness and length conveys the right effect. Before, when he was talking to Franny, Zooey just talked and talked. Now, his speaking is shorter. He is putting more thought into it and speaking more carefully. The length of this fits its purpose in the story, of Zooey trying to carefully apologize in the way that he is able to. 

" 'I'll tell you one thing, Franny. One thing I know. And don't get upset. It isn't anything bad But if it's the religious life you want, you ought to know right now that you're missing out on every single goddam religious action that's going on around this house. You don't even have the sense enough to drink when somebody brings you a cup of consecrated chicken soup -- which is the only kind of chicken soup Bessie ever brings to anybody around this madhouse. So just tell me, just tell me, buddy. Even if you went out and searched the whole world for a master -- some guru, some holy man -- to tell you how to say your Jesus Prayer properly, what good would it do you? How in hell  are you going to recognize a legitimate holy man when you see one if you don't even know a cup of consecrated chicken soup when it's right in front of your nose? Can you tell me that?' " (p. 195) This is after Zooey is revealed as Zooey and not Buddy on the phone. He's done apologizing, and now he just wants Franny to understand what he was getting at. He's trying to get Franny to see what he has discovered in his own struggle, or maybe from Buddy. She does not need to search elsewhere to make her life a religious one, but find the things in her own life that are special, like the chicken soup. It represents the love, healing, and worry of a mother. What Zooey is trying to say is that, if she refuses the chicken soup, then she is being counterproductive. She got into this mess because she was searching for a religious life, but then refuses the offers of one. This style goes back to Zooey's loose endless talking, where he says what he thinks and doesn't cut himself off until he wants a response. 

"Seymour'd told me to shine my showed just as I was going out the door with Waker. I was furious. The studio audience were all morons, the announcer was a moron, the sponsors were morons, and I just damn well wasn't going to shine my shoes for them, I told Seymour. I said they couldn't see them anyway, where we sat. He said to shine them anyway. He said to shine them for the Fat Lady." (p. 199) Seymour's position in Zooey's memory as a mentor and role model is solidified with this quote. Seymour influenced Zooey more than anyone else. Now, Zooey is trying to show Franny what was revealed to him by Seymour all those years ago. Even if you think that the people you do things for are unworthy, there's the Fat Lady. The Fat Lady is why you do it. Even if everyone else is unworthy, there's always one hope. There's always the Fat Lady. Franny has lost faith in everyone and doesn't feel that they are worth her effort. Shee needs to find her Fat Lady. But who will it be?

"There isn't anyone out there who isn't Seymour's Fat Lady. Don't you know that? Don't you know that goddam secret yet? And don't you know -- listen to me now -- don't you know who that Fat Lady really is? ... Ah, buddy. Ah, buddy. It's Christ Himself. Christ Himself, buddy." (p. 200) Seymour was able to find the Fat Lady in everyone. This is different than everyone being the Fat Lady. He was able to find the Fat Lady in everyone because he believed there was a religious aspect. Zooey talks about Seymour's beliefs, but it doesn't matter whether or not those are Zooey's beliefs as well. He thinks that they could help Franny, so he is sharing them. He is trying to tell her that, in her pursuit for religious life, she has cast aside everyone. Included in this everyone is what she was pursuing the whole time. 

The story ends with Franny finally being at peace with herself and with the world. Having received words of wisdom from her brother, she is able to understand and focus her pursuit. With the family's dynamics, this is good. One member of the family needs to not be conflicted. Before, that was Seymour, but his conflicts that he had overcome came back and caused his suicide. After this, I see Franny returning to school. She graduates with honors, not for playing their game, but for playing hers. I can see her marrying Lane and starting a family, then watching her own children go through the same thing. She would feel helpless, like Mrs. Glass did, but she would have the comfort of knowing that they will overcome it and turn out okay. 

Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger. Cycle 20 Reading Response, Pages 91-164

Mrs. Glass discusses contacting Waker with Zooey. Franny is still worrying her, and she hypothesizes that the book that she has been carrying around is at the core of the problem. Zooey reveals that this book is called "The Pilgrim Continues His Way".  Franny wakes up and talks with Zooey about her dream, their parents, Bloomberg (their cat), his meeting with a writer about a script, 

stratagem: "...the little stratagem may well have been mostly reflexive..." (p. 91) noun, a plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve an end

ablutions: "Lemme finish my goddam ablutions in peace, please." (p. 105) noun, acts of washing oneself

captious: "...she said in a tone she fully meant to sound captious." (p. 116) adj, tending to find fault or raise petty objections

sumac: "...lamps that sprang up all over the congested inscape like sumac." (p. 119) noun, a shrub or small tree of the cashew family

juxtaposition: "There, in almost incestuously close juxtaposition..." (p. 121) noun, place or deal with close together for contrasting effect

panatelas: "He had been smoking them since he was sixteen...expensive panatelas, for the most part..." (p. 124) noun, long thin cigars

corroboration: "She looked at Zooey, possibly for corroboration..." (p. 129) noun, a supported or confirmed statement, theory, or finding

supine: "...he stretched out supine on the carpet." (p. 133) adj, lying face upward

macabre: "...with somewhat the macabre-comic effect of a corpse falling out of a closet." (p. 154) adj, disturbing and horrifying because of involvement with or depiction of death and injury

brogues: "Again only the soles and heels of his brogues were visible to Franny." (p. 154) noun, strong outdoor shoes with ornamental perforated patterns in the leather

sanguine: "High-spirited, yes. Mettlesome. Sanguine, perhaps, to a fault." (p. 156) adj, cheerfully optimistic

In the conversations between Zooey and his mother and Franny and Zooey, we learn so much more about Zooey's thoughts on the world. His conversation with his mother is just a continuation of the one from the last blog post, but his conversation with Franny is when we really get to hear what is happening. There's no maternal resentment underlying their words, but genuine sibling respect that comes only with maturity. In these conversations, this story considers the core English 1 question -- Who am I?

In this story, both Zooey and Franny are struggling with this. It seems like who they were going to become was influenced by their brother Seymour. The people around them have influenced who they are. Religious and philosophical beliefs held by Buddy and Seymour were shared, and then adopted by Franny and Zooey as they were growing up. They did not really have to find themselves, since they could just select characteristics of Seymour and Buddy and apply them to themselves. After Seymour commits suicide and Buddy retreats to living in the forest and teaching at a college, Franny and Zooey don't have the same role models that they had. They are left to find themselves, and they are struggling. Their situation and their surroundings reflect themselves. Before we read Franny and Zooey's conversation, J.D. Salinger describes, in incredible detail, the Glass Family's living room. Penetrated with sunlight, it reveals the irregularities and stains, all the things that were hidden in the darkness. Talking does the same thing. When Franny and Zooey talk, things that have been bothering them that they have kept hidden are revealed and we understand more about their past and what caused these. Through the conversations and context of the characters, who they are is revealed to us in writing. 

The words they use in these everyday conversations reveal who they are. While reading this, I found many words that I didn't recognize. They weren't even words whose meaning I could confidently guess based on prefixes, suffixes, and word roots. Their word choice gives the reader a picture of who they are. They are the type of people who use complicated language, utilizing every word in their enormous vocabularies. The content of their conversations are very intellectual as well. They discuss religion and philosophy the way normal people would talk about sports or the weather. This sets them apart from other characters, both in books and real life. The words that they speak as they converse are little building blocks. If we have enough of them, we can build a character's identity. I think that this is what J.D. Salinger aims to do, bit by bit, as his meticulous word choice reveals more about Franny and Zooey.

Both characters, Franny and Zooey, are struggling with themselves. Their role models, their guides in the world, Seymour and Buddy, are out of their reach. Their vocabularies reveal the working of their minds and their intellect. I expect Franny and Zooey to continue to answer the question at the core of our own English 1, Who am I?

Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger. Cycle 19 Reading Response, Pages 69-91

Bessie, Mrs. Glass, interrupts Zooey's bath to share her worries about Buddy with him. She finds the manuscript that Zooey has, The Heart Is an Autumn Wanderer. She also talks about how difficult it has been to deal with all of the children, especially Franny's current condition. She leaves him to deal with all that they have talked about as she goes to check on Franny.

mercurially: "Then, mercurially, as thought he'd read the letter..." (p. 69) adverb, suddenly or unpredictably changing in mood or mind

excelsior: "...he stuffed it like so much excelsior into its envelope." (p. 69) noun, used in the names of hotels, newspapers, and other products to indicate superior quality

importunate: "...his mother's voice -- importunate, quasi-constructive -- addressing him from outside the bathroom door..." (p. 71) adj, persistent, especially to the point of annoyance or intrusion

occultish: "With its many occultish-looking folds..." (p. 73) adj, involving or relating to the supernatural, mystical, or magical powers or phenomena

iota: "...it didn't detract an iota from the single, impactful impression..." (p.74) noun, an extremely small amount

sempervirents: "...to align it with the other sempervirents in its row..." (p. 76) noun, something that is always fresh

connoisseurlike: "...a flicker came into her eyes...of connoisseurlike, if perverse, relish for her youngest, and only handsome, son's style of bullying." (p. 81) adj, showing expert judgement in matters of taste

reticent: "Don't be reticent." (p. 83) adj, not revealing ones thoughts or feelings readily

tenable: "...strong (and still perfectly tenable) impression..." (p. 88) adj, able to maintained or defended against attack or objection

Bessie, the Glass children's mother, has dealt with the raising of these 7 children. She feels as if her husband, Mr. Glass, is distant now that their children are not children any more. Her two sons that died were special ones to her and there is a hole in her life now. Her surviving children pose many challenges to her as a mother. For putting up with everything that life has thrown her way, Mrs. Glass is a strong woman, but still wishes for more support from her family. 

" 'Every single time your father turns on the radio, I honestly think he expects to tune in on "It's a Wise Child" and hear all you children, one by one, answering questions again.' " (p. 83) Bessie is talking to Zooey about her husband. We have not met him yet in this novel, so, as readers, we get to put together the pieces to create him in our minds. To me, I feel like he's sad. He works very hard, but is tired when he gets home at the end of the day. He has to work hard to support his family, who he undoubtedly loves. I feel like he and Bessie married for love, but their marriage has turned into more of a cooperative than romantic relationship over the years. With Mrs. Glass's quote, I picture him missing the old days, when his children were at the forefront, admired and beloved. Now they seem to be struggling, or have settled short of their full potential. Instead of actively worrying about them, he has chosen to retreat to the past, and relive how they used to be. Mrs. Glass thinks he expects to hear Seymour and Walt as well, his two deceased sons. Maybe this is his way of dealing with their death.

Seymour and Walt were special to Bessie. She describes Seymour as "her favorite, her most intricately calibrated, her kindest son" (p. 89), and Walt as "her only truly lighthearted son" (p. 90). They were special children in the Glass family, but now they are gone. I guess that Mrs. Glass relied on them for different things than she relied on her other children for. She probably relied on Seymour for understanding. I see Seymour listening to her complain and asking if he can help her take care of the other kids. When her other children would worry about things, I see Walt not letting it bring him down. His high spirits would have helped the other children forget their worries. Her remaining children are more serious, and although she still loves them, they are no Seymour or Walt. 

Each of the children that are still alive have their own problems. Buddy doesn't have a phone and lives deep in the woods, much to his mother's worry. She tries desperately to get in contact with him, even calling his neighbors that live down the road from him. The oldest daughter, Boo Boo, has her own family and is very busy, too busy to help her mother. While this story is taking place, she is on vacation with her family and won't be back for about a week. Mrs. Glass feels that she can't talk about things with Waker, since he was Walt's twin and brining up Walt's death would only cause him more pain. He is away in Ecuador at the time of this novel. Franny and Zooey are within her reach. Franny is not well and has returned home from college to recover. Zooey is going through what could be called a midlife crisis if it was happening later in his life. 

Mrs. Glass decides that she can't take any more. In this excerpt from the book, she interrupts Zooey's bath in search of discussion and comfort. She wants to finally have someone listen to her, someone on whom she can rest the burden that she has been carrying around since the deaths of her sons and the settling for mediocracy of some of her other children. Her husband can't help, her dead sons obviously can't help, so she turns to her closest child, Zooey, and lays it on him.