frannyandzooey







WEEK 1

A. Lexi

B.Maura On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why?

The language of the book is conversational, yet more formal than that of //Catcher in the Rye,// also by J.D. Salinger. Unlike many classic books, //Franny and Zooey// does not use really formal, and it is not hard to understand. This is probably because it was written relatively recently, so the language has not changed much since the 1940s. Everyone in the group agrees that the book is probably at a high school level. However, it probably could not be read by anyone younger than high school because of its complicated psychological themes. The language used in //Franny and Zooey// is interesting because it mirrors the language used by kids in the 1940s. Franny and her boyfriend, Lane, are young college students and use slang often in their conversations. By reading this book, it is quite easy to become familiar with the language used in the 1940s. Another thing that everyone in the group noticed is that the language is very similar to //Catcher.// //Catcher// was an internal dialogue, so all of Holden's language was very slang and characteristic of a kid in the 1940s. Contrarily, //Franny and Zooey// is narrated with more formal English, but the language used by the characters in conversation is the same. This parallel between these two books may indicate that Salinger himself either spoke this way at some point in his life, or was fascinated by this way of speaking.

C. Deandra Today was our first book club about the book, “Franny and Zooey” by J.D. Salinger. We began the class by preparing our food of which Lexi brought as Maura read us her opinion of the language of the book. Then, Sammy and Danarenae asked their questions they had written. We answered the questions, as well as, discussed the theme throughout the book. We also discussed the character’s personalities and compared it to “The Catcher and the Rye”. We concluded that Franny is very similar to Holden Caulfield as they both have issues with society. Moreover, we discussed how Franny and Lane's conversation became intense when they would discuss the English Department, readings, or academic related topics. Also, their relationship with one another is odd at times, and seems to portray an unhealthy relationship that is in danger.

D. Sammy
 * 1) Why do you think Franny lied about missing Lane when she got off the train? //Maybe she really didn't miss him and feels bad about it. Maybe she cheated on him and feels guilty.//
 * 2) How do Franny and Lane express her dislike of 'the standard' or common status quo type of thing? //1. She is annoyed that all of Lane's friends 'look and act' the same. 2. She says all of the college girls are the same 3.// //Lane was saying how he has the 'right looking girl'//
 * 3) Why do you think Franny was acting uneasy and had many incidents where she needed to go to the bathroom, or when she fainted? //Answers may vary. I think that she cheated on Lane and feels guilty being with him, while she is living a lie.//
 * 4) Right before Franny fainted, the bartender looked at her. Do you think this man has anything to do with why she fainted? //It could be the man she cheated on Lane with, but I don't think it is.//
 * 5) What could Franny's not-eating represent? //It shows her uneasiness and being uncomfortable. It shows that she has something she needs to get off of her chest and that she may be living in a lie. She feels bad for doing something wrong.//

//D. Danarenae 1. After reading Franny’s letter to Lane, what do you conclude about her personality? Franny seems to put effort into making Lane think that she is smart. She also lies as she really does not miss or love Lane, yet she writes that she does.

2. Site an example of how Franny and Lane’s relationship is intellectually stimulating. Franny and Lane’s relationship is intellectually stimulating as they both input into discussions about religion, college courses, and what makes a poet great.

3. Discuss a behavior that demonstrates Franny’s well -being is at risk. She goes into the bathroom to cry her eyes out for five minutes, she faints, and sweats while getting worked up talking. She also seems to be very nervous, anxious, and guilty.

4. List several expressions that demonstrate Franny’s poor state of mind. Franny is in a poor state of mind as she leaves theater even though she loves theater, she seems to be separating from everyone, and she expresses dislike for everyone from friends to teachers to poets.

5. After reading the section on Franny, do you believe that Lane and Franny have a healthy relationship? Explain your answer. Franny and Zooey do not have a healthy relationship. Lane seems to be sincere, but Franny seems to be having a nervous breakdown. She also expresses that she missed him, but she does not miss or love him and she repeatedly thinks to herself that she feels guilty.//

Week 2

C. Danarenae During this week's bookclub, we first sat down and began to eat bagels. Lexi read us her answer and then we discussed this week question and topic. We agreed that the grade reading level for this book would be ninth or tenth grade and up as students at this level would better understand the short stories and sometimes complex ways of wording phrases. After this discussion, Sammy, Maura, and Deandra read the questions that they had prepared. Throughout this bookclub, we discussed the relationship between the Glass children and their upbringing. We all found it interesting that all of children were so smart and on a radio show after being truly taught by their older siblings. Furthermore, we also talked about //Franny and Zooey// in relation to __The Catcher in the Rye__. We agree that unhappiness with the world and those in it is a reoccurring theme in Salinger's stories.

B. Lexi On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? (B) it is definitely hard to read for example, on page 47 the first couple line uses words that are very advanced. In Franny it is very conversational, but it is not in Zooey until he begins talking to his mother on page 71. The grade level should be set at grade 9/10 because I feel that there is a wide gap between the reading levels of 8th graders and high schoolers, and i believe that the book would be more enjoyed and understood because of the high complexity of the phrases if you read it in high school.

D. Deandra Describe Buddy and the mother’s viewpoint on Zooey pursuing his acting career instead of continuing his education. Buddy seems to feel quility that he didn’t speak up for his youngest brother, Zooey, and not push the reading and academic drills that he went through. He re-assures Zooey that at this point in time he wants him to know that he supports him. Zooey’s mother, Bessie, wanted him to continue his education and obtain his Ph.D. in Math rather than Greek.

Describe the relationship that Mrs. Glass has with her seven children. First of all, her children call her Bessie. She seems to be a woman in control and quite pleased with herself. Obviously, she is a woman that expresses her opinion and believes that she is never wrong. It seems that she has made educational demands on her children with being in the program, “It’s a Wise Child” and has great expectations for their academic progress. Moreover, she is confrontational and out of touch with her children.

Give an example of a situation where the mother demonstrates the exact behavior that she disapproves of. Mrs. Glass complains how her daughter, Franny, doesn’t take care of herself properly, yet she smokes constantly.

Compare Mrs. Glass to her daughter, Franny. Name a similarity. A similarity between Mrs. Glass and Franny is that they both seem to be having a nervous breakdown and they are hard to follow because they change topics so frequently.

Why do you think Seymour was Mrs. Glass’ favorite child? Besides being the first born, I think that Mrs. Glass liked the fact that he had his Ph.D. prior to his graduation from high school. Also, possibly her marriage was new and she was still in love. Moreover, she wasn’t so overwhelmed with the choices that her children were making because they were young yet. Finally, Seymour is described as such a loving, well-liked sibling that followed the rules. Clearly, it was easy for his mother to form a bond with her first born son because he set the stage for “It’s a Wise Child” program that seemed important to her status.

D. Sammy D. Maura 1. Why does Buddy fear that Zooey cannot succeed as an actor? Because he has taught Zooey and his brothers too much about Buddhism and religion, so Zooey knows too much about beauty. No play can be beautiful, so Zooey will be hurt by this lack of beauty. 2. What is the significance of the fact that Buddy is writing this letter on the anniversary of Seymour's suicide? It shows how Buddy and Seymour were very close and how Seymour still affects the family, especially Zooey. 3. Why did Buddy teach his siblings so much about religion? He wanted teh children to pursue "no knowledge" and wanted them to learn that knowledge was not the most important thing. 4. Why is Bessie upset with the Glass's father, Les? He doesn't think there is anything wrong with Franny even though she is having an emotional breakdown. 5. When Buddy says that he sees his family "through the wrong end of the telescope," what does this mean? He is saying that he sees his family as if they are far away, or as if he is separated from them.
 * 1) Why did Zooey say, "Sometimes I see me dead in the rain" to his mother when she walked into the bathroom? //He has experienced a lot of death, because both of his brothers have died. He could just be embarrassed that his mom would see him naked in the shower.//
 * 2) What did Buddy's letter say? //It was telling Zooey that he was sorry for implementing so much religion on them, but he really wanted to help them live happy lives. He wanted them to be the best they could be.//
 * 3) What does 'no knowledge' being better than 'knowledge' mean? //It could mean that sometimes it is better to not know about a situation than to know. Or it could mean that it is better to not be a know-it-all type of person. It could also mean that it is better to not care and to not compete, than it is to gain the most knowledge.//
 * 4) What is Franny and Zooey's relationship with Seymour? Where else have we heard of him? //They are all brothers and sisters, and he is from the Bananafish short story, also by Salinger.//
 * 5) Where do you think this book is going? //The book really had no direction, just like// Catcher in the Rye. //It is simply a re-telling or explaining of events and emotions. I hope the book picks up speed, but it doesn't look like it will//


 * WEEK 3

B. Deandra** Salinger represents himself through a strong and unique language impression in his book, Franny and Zooey. Although the tone of this story is serious, there are times that the author seems to convey a sense of dark humor to his reader. An example of this tone would be when the mother is having this serious conversation with her son, Zooey, about her concerns for her daughter who is near a nervous breakdown. However, this intense conversation takes place in the bathroom while Zooey is in the bathtub. Zooey uses dark sarcasm to answer his mother as she repeatedly questions him on Franny. The mother brings other topics into her conversation like, “Make sure you use the bathtub mat when you get out of the tub” as if the discussion wasn’t about a child who is close to a breakdown and in need of help. Overall, the mood of the book is very sad and depressing because the family seems so dysfunctional with one another. An example of these depressing mood changes is when Zooey and his mother speak to one another with little regard for respect. In the middle of a conversation Mrs. Glass would experience an emotional flare-up and Zooey would respond with either laughter or just the opposite. At times, wounding remarks to one another seem to be a natural form of conversation for them, despite their intelligent level. Therefore, the overriding emotion of this book is serious, depression, and despair. The element of sadness seems to dominate the book, as well as, hopelessness to help one another.

1.) Do you think Zooey is rude, or does he just have a good relationship? We think he is rude, because the kids got so close from helping each other, so its like they dont even care about hte parents. 2.) Do you think the book and the reciting of the jesus prayer incessantly has something to do with frannys breakdown. Yes, because its a very weird book to be reading, like she didnt want to show the book to Lane, the kids are very colt-like. 3.) Do you think being smart can hurt a person like it did to the majority of franny and zooeys family? I think they matured to fast, especially through religon, they were getting smarter than society, and they felt very pressured growing up in that type of family. 4.) Is ther signifigance to why they list how crowded the appartment is? It could represent the family clutter and how they have so much random stuff, showing the families disorient 5.) What do you think about the father of the family? He doesnt realize how whacked his family is, and he is consistantly absent fromt he families life
 * D. Lexi**

E. 1. What is significant about Bessie's eyes? Salinger says that her eyes show her emotions. Before the deaths of her sons, her eyes showed strength. Right after her sons' deaths, her eyes showed her despair at their deaths. Now, they show her sadness at trivial things. This may mean that she is becoming weaker emotionally and possibly having a breakdown. 2. Describe Bessie's relationship with her children. She is annoying to them and disconnected. 3. Do you think the repeated use of rain as a metaphor is significant? Yes. Rain and water is associated with religion, and the family is very religious. Maybe this shows that the family needs spiritual cleansing. 4. What reason does Zooey give for not wanting to be married? What does this say about him? He says that he does not want to be married because he likes sitting by the window on trains and when you're married, you have to give up the window seat. Going deeper, Zooey may not want to be tied down to one person or place. The train can mean that he likes to travel and move around. 5. Do you think Zooey likes religion? How do you know? We think Zooey does not like religion; it is more of a burden to him that he knows so much about it.

C. Meeting Summary- Sammy Deandra started off the book club by reading her piece about the tone and mood of the book. She explained how the mood was a bit awkward, especially when Bessie was in the bathroom, and having a conversation with Zooey. She explained how the family was dysfunctional. Next, Lexi and Maura read their review questions. Throughout this process, we realized that __Franny and Zooey__ was the follow up novel to another work of Salingers. This other story talked about Seymour Glass's life before his suicide. This explained why some of the novel is so random, and hard to understand. Then, we answered Maura's questions. We ended the book with what we thought about the novel. We all think that it is very slow, and hope that it speeds up soon!

Week 4

A. Sammy B. Danarenae Discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?

This section of the novel, __Franny and Zooey__, by J.D. Salinger, contains the themes of respect, prayer, sadness and destruction, large egos, and depression. It seems that her mother believes that her interest is religion, but really Franny’s interest is in the Pilgrim books that have more to do with love and respect. Franny continues to feel guilt over the knowledge that she has obtained and her inability to stop herself when she was with Lane. Yet, Franny and Zooey think so highly of themselves with egos that can only lead to self -destruction because of their insecurity to constantly criticize themselves and one another. Finally, the theme of depression lingers as Zooey describes Franny on the couch with her sad eyes that depict a lost girl. The way in which Zooey speaks to Franny knowing that she is near a nervous breakdown is not typical of someone who is trying to help the situation. In regards to the images that are used in this story, their last name seems to sum up a fine representation of their family. The way in which they view and speak to one another is so transparent, like glass. Every family member seems to say exactly what is on their mind, without regard for feelings and unaware of the stones that are being thrown at the “Glass” house. In addition, they do not seem to be very private with their troubles, demonstrating the reflective, see through image of no privacy.

C. Deandra Compare Zooey and Franny’s relationship to the last section of this novel. It seems as though they have a heart to heart talk, regardless of what the mother believes. Zooey appears to be genuinely concerned for his sister, as he speaks to her like a psychiatrist with his questions and cigar in his mouth. Also, the manner in which he describes her beauty is Zooey’s loving and brotherly moment, and then when he complains to her that her hysteria business is unattractive it describes Zooey’s truthful brotherly moment. In other words, they put their egos aside for a page or two to try to listen to one another.

What do you believe is the significance of the cat in the story? We believe that the cat, Bloomberg, was a pet created to demonstrate how unaware Franny became of her surroundings. She continues to pet a cat that has flees as well as, affectionately hugs him believing that he is returning this affection back to her. Also, Franny believes that Bloomberg is crazy about her and wants to stay by her side.

Name a quality that you believe Zooey and Franny have in common. They both realize that they are freaks that will never have a moment of peace until everyone thinks like them. Also, they both have the “Wise Child” complexes of large egos and critical views. Morover, they share both have uncertainty about life decisions.

What do you conclude about Franny’s nightmares and Zooey’s response? Franny’s nightmares seem to be another example of her guilt, and insecurity with herself. At first, Zooey’s response seems caring because he inquires about her nightmare, but then he cuts her off to insult the way she looks and gets diverted by the cat under the blanket.

In your opinion, describe Zooey’s relationship with Hess and LeSage. Like all of the people Zooey comes in contact with, he relates them to himself by describing how they believe that they are the best, are conceited, make him feel down and sad, and are as happy as pigs until he shows up. Once again, nothing seems to be right and even though he is egocentric, he is never good enough and either are they.

C. Lexi 1. Knowing that all of Zooey has been taken place in NYC, do you think that the city environment has taken an effect on the story line, for example if zooey took place in krntucky do you think the family would still be in the mental-state that each of them are in? 2. During franny we knew that when franny and lane when and grabbed a drink at sicklers, they both ordered martinis, in zooey we see how bad of a mental state she is in. In the beginning of the book we thought she was pregnant, but then she had martinis, but not she is very irrational, what are your beliefs on whats wrong with her now?
 * Salinger grew up in NY so maybe he was trying to put his experiences into it. But I think only small details would change, the glass family is very sophisticated and NY kids are known for that, not like kentucky.
 * I think she is having a break down, because their level of intelligence see other people in different way, she is starting to see the world isn’t a good place in general.

3. Knowing as much as we do now seeing the mental state of most of the characters, and each of them share one common thing, the last name of glass. Do you think this could be a symbol for anything? They are fragile people, they don’t hide anything, one crack can kill them, and they are not very private with there issues, these characteristics are all represented by glass.

4. Now that this is the last book club before we have all finished the book, what do you thinking the ending will hold? 5. If you were in Frannys position, would you keep reading the book even though its causing havoc in the family. What about from the familys point of view, why don’t they just take away the book that they believe is causing all this? They are not strong enough to, they are all crazy and they all are dealing wither there own problems, so they dont really help in general for those reasons. D. Maura Summarize: We started out the meeting by eating Sammy's delicious chocolate cake and cinammon sticks. Once we had our fill, Dana kicked off the discussion by reading a paragraph about the themes of the book. She eloquently described the themes of depression and fragility that are so prevalent in the book. We discussed the way in which much of Franny and Zooey deals with the characters' mental health, or lack thereof. We went on to discuss Lexi's questions, which also dealt with themes like depression and mental instability. After we finished those questions, we answered Deandra's, which involved symbols and the characters' interactions. We discussed teh symbolism of Franny's cat as well as Zooey's developing character as he assumes more responsibility in taking care of Franny. All in all, it was a very productive discussion that led all the members of our group to eagerly anticipate the book's end.
 * There is no story line, so basically the only thing that could happen is franny breaking down and zooey staying home to help her.

WEEK 5 B. Sammy - On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? __Franny and Zooey__ //would not be my book of choice. I am now steadfast in my dislike of Salinger's novels. I dislike how the novels are not a story, but rather an explaining of someone's life. There is no beginning, middle, and end, and th////ere is no conflict or resolution. The book was too 'deep' and wasn't an enjoyable read, to me. I would not recommend it to peers because I feel no good has come out of it. I have learned nothing from reading it, and I experienced no emotion from any character. This should not be in the school's curriculum because it is boring, and expresses the same exact themes as// __The Catcher in the Rye__.

C. Lexi meeting summary Maura began the meeting by distributing food, then we went through the 10 questions that dana and deandra created. Whie we answered the questions we ate bagels and drank orange juice. This was our last book club meeting so we spoke about the end of the book alot, and how we really disliked the ending, and really the entire book in general. We as a group at the end of the discussion decided that we need to learn how to pick bettter book.

D. Danarenae 1) What do you think the nightmare represents? I believe that Franny is extremely uncomfortable with Professor Tupper and doesn’t like it when he stares at her. She probably feels guilty because she doesn’t like him and makes faces at him behind his back. The fact that Franny feels Professor Tupper detests her is another example of her insecurity. 2) What is an example that portrays Franny’s loss of reality with the outside world. Explain. One example is when Franny remarks how affectionate Bloomberg, the tomcat, is to her. In reality, he demonstrated no signs of affection toward her. Another example is when she casually comments on the 14 fleas that she has found on her cat, as if fleas were not a problem that had to be dealt with. 3) Explain why Zooey is upset with Franny’s beliefs on Jesus? Zooey felt as though Franny didn’t understand Jesus when she was a child, and now he believes that she doesn’t understand Jesus either because she is viewing him as something that he is not. She sees him as her brother and saints. 4) Discuss the incidence that Zooey believes is the cause for Franny to turn to another religion? Zooey believes that Franny didn’t approve of Jesus going into the synagogue and throwing tables around. This rudeness of Jesus encouraged Franny to turn to Buddha. 5) Zooey tells Franny that she doesn’t face facts. Give an example and explain. Zooey believes that Franny doesn’t talk to Jesus even though she is using the prayer of Jesus. She prays to people like St. Francis, and Seymour and does not see Jesus for who he really is. D. Deandra 1) Why do think that Franny considers Professsor Tupper to be the worst person in her life? The Professor has a big ego and therefore, Franny considers Professor Tupper to be the worst person in her life. She greatly dislikes that her Professor tells stories and expects everyone including Franny to be impressed, but she is really disgusted by his over inflated ego. 2) Describe how Franny felt after Zooey finished speaking to her the first time. Franny felt annoyed and she felt that Zooey should not be lecturing her when he is a freak himself and has grown up under the same conditions. Also, Franny was pale, crying, her shirt was wet and she felt like a failure. 3) Why do think Zooey decided to step into his brother’s room after so many years? This was the first time in seven years that Zooey set foot in Seymour’s and Buddy’s room. We believe that after speaking with Franny and re-visiting his faith, he viewed things differently. Moreover, Zooey went into the room to embrace the feeling of acting like Buddy. 4) What is your opinion of Franny’s conversation with Zooey? Explain your answer. They do not know how to talk with one another because they seem to be lecturing instead of communicating. Franny and Zooey have learned everything they know from their brothers, who taught them through lectures. Therefore, this is in turn the only way Zooey knows how to help his sister, by teaching her the mistake she is making through a lecture. 5) Do you believe Franny and Zooey’s brother-sister relationship has progressed throughout the story? For the most part, we believe they share a deep connection with one another, however, we feel that they do not know how to show their real emotions. They are interested in each other’s careers and life, but they also recognize the downfalls in each other’s life. At the end of the book, Franny and Zooey connect because Zooey helps Franny to realize that she does have the right religious views to truly fulfill the Jesus Prayer.