Summary: “The Catcher in the Rye” is a novel by J.D. Salinger that follows the story of Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy who has been expelled from his prep school and is struggling to find his place in the world. Over the course of a few days, Holden wanders around New York City, interacting with various people and reflecting on his past experiences and relationships.
He is disillusioned with the adult world and feels alienated from his peers, which leads him to act out in ways that are both rebellious and self-destructive. Through Holden’s experiences, the novel explores themes of alienation, identity, loss of innocence, and the complexities of growing up. Ultimately, Holden comes to accept that he cannot hold onto his childhood forever and must embrace the challenges of adulthood.
1. “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
2. “All morons hate it when you call them a moron.”
3. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was.”
4. “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.”
5. “I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It’s nice.”
6. “I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.”
7. “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”
8. “Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.”
9. “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse.”
10. “I don’t even like old cars. I mean they don’t even interest me. I’d rather have a goddam horse.”
11. “I’m sick of just liking people. I wish to God I could meet somebody I could respect.”
12. “If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.”
13. “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”
14. “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.”
15. “People always think something’s all true.”
16. “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful. If I’m on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I’m going, I’m liable to say I’m going to the opera. It’s terrible.”
17. “What really scares me is the thought of not being able to change the way I am, of always being stuck in my own skin, forever.”
18. “I can’t explain what I mean. And even if I could, I’m not sure I’d feel like it.”
19. “I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would’ve, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed.”
20. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move.”
21. “I’m always saying “Glad to’ve met you” to somebody I’m not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.”
22. “I’m not afraid to be a fool. You know why? Because I’m not afraid to live.”
23. “I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall.”
24. “People never believe you.”
25. “I like to be somewhere at least where you can see ’em, and they can see you.”
26. “It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.”
27. “I can’t explain what I mean. And even if I could, I’m not sure I’d feel like it.”
28. “That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can.”
29. “It’s not too bad when the sun’s out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out.”
30.”The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”
31. “I think that one of these days,” he said, “you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there. But immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute.”
32.”I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”
