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Over the course of a lifetime everyone receives advice that is usually more easily said than done. In J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, Franny Glass and her brother Zooey receive some advice from their older brother Seymour that is not only hard to follow, but actually involves going against human nature to achieve. Seymour tells his two youngest siblings that they should do everything in their life “For the Fat Lady” (Salinger 200). Although not understanding his eldest brother’s insight at first, Zooey later understands the advice to mean that no matter what, one should always do his best, not for the world around him but simply for himself. All a person can ever control is themselves, and therefore, despite what they see society doing around them, the only thing they can do is give their best effort in every aspect of life. At first glance, Seymour’s instruction seems logical, as well as doable. However, when closely looked at, it is apparent that this is not the case. Seymour’s advice is particularly difficult to follow because it asks people to go against basic human nature by requiring detachment from the common desire to conform to society. One problem that Franny recognizes within the world is that people always behave the way they do to receive praise and applause, never acting for themselves. Franny uses her previous profession as an actress as an example, however, what she describes really applies to everyone. She explains why she felt the need to quit the theatre department stating, “Just because I’m so horribly conditioned to accept everybody else’s values, and just because I like applause and people to rave about me, doesn’t make it right” (Salinger 30). Franny touches on the idea that people always seek applause and will do whatever it takes to attain it, and in truth, she is correct. Human beings want to shine, and they want to be the best, which ties into the fact that humans are insatiable creatures, greedy to obtain the image