getting Franny off the couch

Mattis Fishman (mattis@argos.argoscomp.com)
Mon, 16 Feb 1998 12:55:30 -0500 (EST) 

WinBoogie responded to criticism of F&Z with:

>   Not me. If anything I'm entirely too likely to curl up on a couch with a
>flea ridden cat refusing  consecrated chicken soup. I read Zooey's comments to
>try to figure out how to say the prayer for me, and not for the sake of
>avoiding ignorant ushers. The Glass I relate to most is Franny. It's a sign of
>my own stunted development that I can't get beyond pointing the finger
>outward, creating debilitating inertia. I am a Franny, but I'd love to be
>anyone but.

Hello,

   Well, I hope that my own confessions haven't turned the list into a
group therapy session <smile>. Seriously, though, I share your perspective
both on what I hope to achieve from reading JDS's stories and how
participation in this list can amplify and clarify the insights we might
sift out in our reading.

   As for understanding how Zooey got Franny off the couch, remember that
he didn't read read her "Franny and Zooey". Salinger may take the lid off
the spiritual pot and tantalize us with exotic vapors, but his
chicken soup is not home made. If the approach and style he uses come across
as self-satisfied and preachy (in some people's view), this seems a literary
pitfall that accompanies mixing religion and story telling. However, it
does not necessarily discredit the religious and spiritual ideas which play
a large part in the resolution of Franny's crisis.

   Regarding the religious sentiments which Salinger presents, do we want
to really consider him, based upon an extremely small body of work, our
priest/rabbi/guru?  He excels in portraying *people* in spiritual quests
or dilemmas, but I do not want to fall into the habit of treating his
fictional "teachings" as Salingerism. Following his pointing finger, though,
and becoming familiar with the religious/spiritual teachings most accessible
to us would seem an excellent way at resolving our own attacks of Franny's
Disease, banana fever or Holdenitis.

all the best,
Mattis