Alice Walker and J.D Salinger demonstrate how faith helps their main characters to discover their true potential. Both authors use their novels to show the readers how faith, religion, and human interventions can promote a positive and meditative change within a person. In Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple", protagonist, Celie, relies upon her faith in God and her sister to give her strength in times of hardship. This faith is later transferred to a blues singer named Shug Avery, who teaches Celie about the true meaning of life and of being free. J.D Salinger's character Franny, from "Franny and Zooey" becomes morose after reading the novel The Way of A Pilgrim because she realizes that she is no better than the people around her. Her brother Zooey convinces her that her problem is not really a problem at all. He tells her that she needs to face the fact that, even though she is like everyone else, she still has a divine spark inside of her, as do all others. He tells her that she needs to respect that. Both Celie and Franny have people in their lives that help them overcome their hardships. These two women experience extraordinary transformation

J.D Salinger's protagonist Franny, grows up in a world where philosophy and religious ideas are as common as everyday thoughts, and that "all legitimate religious study must lead to unlearning the differences, the illusory differences between boys and girls..."(Salinger 67-68). While attending university, she begins to read The Way of the Pilgrim, which makes her realize that she is no better than the people around her, "It got worse and worse. [She] even started picking on [her] roommate"(Salinger 145). Franny becomes disgusted with the duplicity of the people she interacts with. She can not reason out why people are so concerned with gaining knowledge without wisdom, "Knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn't, it's just a disgusting waste of time...You hardly ever even hear the word wisdom mentioned!"(Salinger 146-147) Zooey is disgusted with his sister's attitude towards the general populace, "what I don't like at all is...this snotty little crusade you think you're leading against everybody...I hate the kind of blanket attack you're making on it" (Salinger161). He goads Franny into realizing that everyone has a divine spark and as long as she respects that, he does not care what she does.

177-Zooey takes Franny's decisions personally. He feels that she does not respect others because she cannot see the inner spark that others possess, "...what I don't like ...is the way you talk about all these people. I mean you don't just despise what they represent--you despise them. It's too damn personal" (Salinger 162). Zooey points out multiple times that Franny takes things too much at heart, he also points out that this is a fault that he also possesses "[he] does the exact same thing [she] does, and [he's] old enough to know better"(Salinger 163). He then points out that, like at the age of ten, she did not know the true meaning of who Jesus is, "I don't think you understood Jesus when you were a child and I don't think you understand him now. I think you've got him confused in your mind with about five or ten other religious personages, and I don't see how you can go ahead wi

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Approximate Word count = 1423
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)