Franny and Zooey
| Written by: | J. D. Salinger |
|---|---|
| Central Theme: | |
| Synopsis: | The short story Franny and the novella Zooey, about the two yougest siblings of the Glass family |
| Series: | Glass family |
| First published: | 1961 |
Franny and Zooey comprises a short story and a novella by J. D. Salinger, published together as a book in 1961; the short story and the novella originally appeared in The New Yorker in 1955 and 1957, respectively. The short story "Franny" serves as a prologue to the events of "Zooey".
Though nowhere near as popular or influential as The Catcher in The Rye, Franny and Zooey has a cult following. It has been widely suggested that The Royal Tenenbaums is a loose, unofficial adaptation of this book, due to the fact that both contain a dysfunctional, gifted family, one of which is voluntarily locked in a bathroom.
In case you're wondering, yes, Zooey Deschanel is named after the "Zooey" character, despite the latter actually being male.
Tropes used in Franny and Zooey include:
- Ambiguously Jewish: The Glass family
- Big Screwed-Up Family: The Glass family is one due to Seymour's suicide and the fact the children were precociously bright and grew up famous.
- Broken Bird: Franny copes by becoming incredibly cynical about everything until Zooey snaps her out of it.
- Ivy League for Everyone: "Franny" takes place at Princeton during a game against Yale.
- The Verse: Franny and Zooey, the later novellas Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, a third of Salinger's Nine Stories, and Salinger's final published work, the rare short story "Hapworth 16, 1924", all feature the Glass family.