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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Zooey get so upset when Bessie mentions calling Philly Byrnes, the psychoanalyst?

2. What does Franny fill the entire blackboard with?

3. How does Zooey think about Lane?

4. What is Zooey doing as he tells Bessie the tale of the pilgrim?

5. How does Zooey treat Hess when Hess offers him a new script?

Short Essay Questions

1. Zooey attempts to get through to Franny on many levels. One of them is as a daughter. How so?

2. Describe the Glass's living room.

3. How is it ironic that Franny tells Zooey that he is the most unsympathetic person that she has ever known?

4. What metaphor does Salinger use to show how badly Franny received what Zooey had to say concerning the Jesus prayer?

5. How would you interpret Franny's dream?

6. How did Zooey and Franny become freaks in Zooey's eyes?

7. What does the setting of Buddy and Seymour's bedroom say about their characters?

8. Why is it so odd that the curtains have been removed from the living room?

9. Why does Bessie ask Zooey's opinion about whether she should call her son the priest to help Franny when Zooey treats his mother the way that he does?

10. What theme of the novel is suggested by the quotations on the door of Buddy and Seymour's bedroom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Seymour has taught Franny and Zooey about the Fat Lady. Who is she and what is it that Seymour was teaching them? In a well-written essay, explain the symbolism of the Fat Lady and how she affects the theme of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

How does Franny outwardly conform while questioning inward? Write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work.

Essay Topic 3

At the end of the novel. Zooey makes a phone call to Franny. The call is ironic because Zooey pretends to be someone that he is not. The irony culminates the theme of phoniness in the novel. In a well-organized essay, explain how the phone call is ironic and how it culminates the theme of phoniness.

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