JD Salinger's novel Franny and Zooey features various members of the Glass family, and although the two stories were originally published independently, their combined significance cannot be ignored. Seven years after the suicide of their older brother Seymour, the two youngest members of the family, Franny and Zooey, continue to struggle with their brother's death, unable to make sense of his life lessons. Franny and Zooey tell the story of Franny, a promising future actress, struggling to find the spiritual enlightenment her brother described to her as a child. While most readers believe the text supports a definition of ego as a negative manifestation of materialism, which parallels Franny's initial understanding of the word, through Zooey's redefinition of the term during her confrontation with her sister mentally unstable, Franny's understanding of the ego becomes clear. it is deformed and takes her away from the enlightenment she seeks. This is important because it sheds light on the intertwined importance of one's duty in life as well as one's ego and how both are necessary to please higher spiritual powers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Franny Glass, the youngest of the seven Glass children, is struggling to find meaning and purpose in her life. Early in her childhood, she was introduced to Eastern philosophy by her older brothers, Seymour and Buddy. Unlike their own educational experiences, the two boys wanted their younger siblings “to both know who and what Jesus and Gautama and Lao-tse and Shankaracharya…were before [Franny and Zooey] knew too much or anything about Homer or Shakespeare or even Blake or Whitman, not to mention George Washington and his cherry tree or the definition of a peninsula or how to analyze a sentence (30). Because of the hasty introduction of these spiritual ideas, it is easy to understand why Franny places so much emphasis on finding a spiritual solution in her life. This understanding of her childhood explains the drastic measures she takes, the impulsive decisions she makes, and her mental fragility throughout the first part of the novel, aptly titled Franny. As readers, we see that, in an attempt to achieve the enlightenment his brothers spoke of, he abandons his promising acting education and turns to a curious green book titled The Way of a Pilgrim (18). This seems to be Franny's only comfort in the world as she searches for insights into the evil plaguing the world around her. Jesus' prayer, buried within the pages of the pilgrimage book, offers comfort and hope with the idea that enough repetition will lead her to see the face of God, even if she does not believe the words that fall from his lips. Frustrated with everyone around her and the turtle's inability to carry her prayer in peace, she collapses during her date with her boyfriend, Lane Coutell. Between frequent trips to the bathroom, uninteresting monologues that serve as dinner conversation, and his endless sweating, he expresses his concerns with the "ego, ego, ego" of actors, the falsity of theater, and his struggle with Lane's compliance with the rules. company (29). Her frustration with these topics gives readers the insight that Franny's understanding of the ego has a negative connotation and corresponds to the problems she sees in the theater and in her boyfriend. Franny's ego perception implies a certain self-centeredness and a high opinion of oneself. which is accompanied by the desire to perform actions only as long as they are beneficial tothemselves. As she becomes overwhelmed by the supposed ego that she sees consuming the world around her, she "[cries] completely for five minutes... to suppress any louder displays of grief and confusion" in the bathroom, before passing out in Sickler's Restaurant (22) . After her disastrous date After her night with Lane, Franny returns home to the Glass family's Manhattan apartment. After a few days spent on the living room couch, immersed in her emotional distress and spiritual turmoil, her older brother Zooey has had enough. Having received the same exposure to a variety of religious teachings as a child, he recognizes the root of Franny's problem. He prefaces his confrontation with his sister by explaining that [he] is raising the issue for a good reason…. [she] doesn't think that [Franny] understood Jesus when [she was] a little girl and [she] doesn't think that [she] understands [Jesus] now... [she has] confused him in [her] mind with about five or ten religious figures, and [does not see] how [she] can go forward with the Jesus Prayer until [she] knows who is who and what is what (71). This shows Zooey's justification for the conversation she is about to have with her sister, highlighting this understanding that while she seeks religious enlightenment and peace, she has become confused about the correct way to go down this path. She goes on to explain that her “sloppy” way of “looking at things” makes her “constitutionally incapable of loving or understanding,” as she constantly criticizes and evaluates others, complaining about their inflated egos (72). As abrupt as ever, he berates his sister for deciding to sit down, blindly repeating the Jesus Prayer "[begging] God for a little mystical experience that will make her kind and happy," instead of taking physical action to find the enlightenment he seeks. (72). She knows that if her sister doesn't "start facing the facts," she will never get out of this "mess (73)." Trying to tread lightly on his fragile sister while still trying to get his message across to Franny, he goes on to explain that while he's not trying to "[undermine her] Jesus Prayer," he's "against the why, the how, and the where [she] is using it (73).” Here Zooey reveals the root of Franny's problem: her intention in using prayer and her confusion in understanding the ego Although Zooey "would like to be convinced that [she] is not using [prayer] as a substitute for doing whatever the hell [her] duty in life is,” it is clear that her blind repetition of words on the pages of the Pilgrims' Book is, in fact, a substitution for her acting career, which Zooey identifies as her God-given talent ( 73, 86).The distinction between duty and ego that Zoey highlights in these lines of Salinger's novel can be better understood with the explanation of the Buddhist concept of dharma, which Zooey mentions earlier in the story (47). originating from ignorance. The practice of dharma means the fulfillment of spiritual duties according to God's calling. Franny's understanding of the ego, at this point in the story, stems from ignorance because she cannot decipher the different “ religious characters,” as Zooey explained at the very beginning of their conversation (71). In Franny's case, her calling is acting, and Zooey explains that "the only religious thing [she] can do is act" and "be God's actress" as this is in accordance with her religious duty, or his dharma (86). As readers, we know that his initial motivation to leave the theater was because he refused to tolerate the ego's frenzy any longer. However, Zooey tells her that “it would take Christ himself to decide what the ego is and what it is not. This is God's universe...he has the final say on what is ego and what is not (72).” Additionally, Zooey criticizes Franny for "yelling (88).