The Jesus Prayer

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the religious experiences of the main characters of the novel "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger. Franny claims to have a sort of revelation "Jesus Prayer" in the beginning of the book and this is mocked by her brother Zooey. This paper first examines what is the Jesus Prayer. It then goes on to examine why and J.D. Salinger uses it in his novel and how it functions in the novel. It also explores the nature of religious experience as revealed by the characters and actions of Franny and Zooey.

From the paper:

"Zooey cannot see how Franny's use of the Jesus Prayer the prayer that left her at the end of the first section lying exhausted and hungry, staring at the ceiling of the manager's office in a restaurant, her lips moving is a religious experience. (41-44) However, this paper will assert that contrary to what Zooey states, Franny has had a religious experience in the first part of the book. It is perhaps not quite a religious experience as defined on Zooey's terms, nor the sort of religious experience Franny herself believes she has had, before she has the confrontation with her brother. But it is religious none the less. This is because her use of the Jesus prayer, misguided as it is, brings both Franny and her brother to a kind of appreciation and acceptance of the world that they did not have at the beginning of the novel."

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