Franny and Zooey Character Analysis

Franny Glass

Franny Glass, the youngest daughter of Les Glass and Bessie Glass, is a sensitive, intelligent college student. As children, she and her six older siblings hosted a radio show called “It’s A Wise Child.”… read analysis of Franny Glass

Zooey Glass

The second youngest Glass sibling, 25-year-old Zooey is a beautiful though very thin actor who has found success on TV. Like all his siblings, in childhood Zooey hosted or co-hosted the radio show “It’s a… read analysis of Zooey Glass

Mrs. Bessie Glass

Mrs. Glass is the wife of Les Glass and the mother of Seymour, Buddy, Boo Boo, Walt, Waker, Franny, and Zooey Glass. Mrs. Glass remains devastated by the… read analysis of Mrs. Bessie Glass

Buddy Glass

The second-oldest Glass sibling, Buddy narrates the second half of Franny and Zooey (though after a first-person introductory note, he generally refers to himself in the third person). Like all his siblings, Buddy hosted the… read analysis of Buddy Glass

Lane Coutell

Lane Coutell is Franny Glass’s college boyfriend, a self-satisfied, conventional, and pretentious young man. He pretends to be less enthusiastic about Franny than he really is, presumably to avoid appearing overeager. Yet despite his… read analysis of Lane Coutell

Seymour Glass

The oldest Glass sibling, Seymour was the first (and widely considered the best) child host of the radio program “It’s A Wise Child.” As a young man, he served in World War II; after returning… read analysis of Seymour Glass

Les Glass

Husband to Mrs. Glass and father to the seven Glass siblings, Les Glass never actually appears in Franny and Zooey, though Mrs. Glass complains to her son Zooey that Les is failing to take… read analysis of Les Glass

Dick Hess

Dick Hess is a screenwriter living in New York but originally from Des Moines, Iowa. Zooey acted in his first script and thought it was actually decent; Dick’s subsequent scripts have been trend-chasing and mediocre… read analysis of Dick Hess

Minor Characters

Boo Boo

The third-oldest Glass sibling, Boo Boo is married with three children. During the events of Franny and Zooey, she is unable to help Franny because she is traveling in Europe with her family.

Walt Glass

Twin to Waker, Walt was a “light-hearted” young man who died in an accident while a solider in the U.S. Army’s occupation of Japan after World War II.

Waker Glass

Twin to Walt, Waker is a Catholic priest. During the events of Franny and Zooey, he is unable to help Franny because he is attending a Jesuit convening in Ecuador, though Mrs. Glass suggests getting in touch with him until Zooey tells her that Franny’s problem is “non-sectarian.”

Mr. LeSage

Mr. LeSage is an important man in the television industry with whom Zooey works and whom Zooey likes despite Mr. LeSage’s almost comically thorough social conformity.

Franny and Zooey

J. D. Salinger

Franny and Zooey Characters