50 Holden Caulfield Quotes From The Sardonic Protagonist Of 'Catcher In The Rye'
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In 1951, J. D. Salinger portrayed the popular Holden Caulfield as a character with real-world conditions.
J. D. Salinger and Holden have many similarities. Probably, the book is inspired by true events from the author's early life.
Throughout the book, Holden appears to be judgmental almost immediately about anyone who takes a more conventional route. This peculiar habit arises from him perceiving everyone as hypocritical, trying to be superficial instead of their authentic self.
If you enjoyed reading our quotes from 'Catcher in the rye', you would also love the Allen Ginsberg quotes and Anais Nin quotes.
Funny Holden Caulfield Quotes
Although this book is about many complex emotions, there is a lighter side to it. You can see some of the Holden Caulfield quotes about play and being funny.
1. "And I have one of those very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I'd probably lean over and tell myself to please shut up."
― J. D. Salinger.
2. "I’m always saying “Glad to’ve met you” to someone I’m not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though."
― J. D. Salinger.
3. "You think if they're intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don't give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do. They really do"
― J. D. Salinger.
4. "It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to."
― J. D. Salinger.
5. "Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do"
― J. D. Salinger.
6. "I can be quite sarcastic when I'm in the mood."
― J. D. Salinger.
7. "Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."
― J. D. Salinger.
8. "Catholics are always trying to find out if you're Catholic."
― J. D. Salinger.
9. "When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go."
― J. D. Salinger.
10. "That's something that annoys the hell out of me- I mean if somebody says the coffee's all ready and it isn't"
― J. D. Salinger.
11. "I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do."
― J. D. Salinger.
Holden Caulfield Quotes About Adults
Holden's popular choice of word is 'phony' in the book. We see he uses it so often on people to confine to more categorical answers indicating his perceptions of society. Read Holden Caulfield quotes about phonies here.
12. “It’s partly true, too, but it isn’t all true. People always think something’s all true.”
― J. D. Salinger.
13. “People never notice anything.”
― J. D. Salinger.
14. "Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell"
― J. D. Salinger.
15. “Lots of time you don’t know what interests you most till you start talking about something that doesn’t interest you most.”
― J. D. Salinger.
16. "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody"
― J. D. Salinger.
17. "Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules."
― J. D. Salinger.
18. "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you."
― J. D. Salinger.
19. "Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles."
― J. D. Salinger.
20. "I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It’s nice."
― J. D. Salinger.
21. "It’s really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes."
― J. D. Salinger.
22. "If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did."
― J. D. Salinger.
23. "I think that one of these days...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. Not you."
― J. D. Salinger.
Holden Caulfield Quotes About Positivity
Holden suffers from a combination of syndromes such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Despite all that, there is optimism. You can see some Holden Caulfield quotes about depression and how to come over it.
24. "I don't even know what I was running for—I guess I just felt like it."
― J. D. Salinger.
25. "Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours."
― J. D. Salinger.
26. "I don't even like old cars. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake."
― J. D. Salinger.
27. "When you're feeling very depressed, you can't even think."
― J. D. Salinger.
28. "I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."
― J. D. Salinger.
29. "It always smelled like it was raining outside, even if it wasn't, and you were in the only nice, dry, cozy place in the world."
― J. D. Salinger.
30. "Know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly."
― J. D. Salinger.
31. "Sometimes you get tired of riding in taxicabs the same way you get tired riding in elevators. All of a sudden, you have to walk, no matter how far or how high up.”
― J. D. Salinger.
32. "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."
― J. D. Salinger.
33. "I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot."
― J. D. Salinger.
34. "I’m just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don’t they?"
― J. D. Salinger.
35. "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."
― Holden Caulfield.
36. "If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don’t watch it, you start showing off. And then you’re not as good anymore."
― J. D. Salinger.
37. "People always clap for wrong reasons"
― J. D. Salinger.
38. "I don't exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it."
― J. D. Salinger.
Holden Caulfield Quotes About Growing Up
Holden carries hate towards conformity, and adulthood, usually targeted towards people who are fake and insincere. See here are Holden Caulfield quotes about breaking rules.
39. "Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad."
― Holden Caulfield.
40. "It was that kind of a crazy afternoon, terrifically cold, and no sun out or anything, and you felt like you were disappearing every time you crossed a road."
― Holden Caulfield.
41. "Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will."
― Holden Caulfield.
42. "I knew it wasn't too important, but it made me sad anyway."
― Holden Caulfield.
43. "The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I'm not kidding"
― Holden Caulfield.
44. "That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any."
― Holden Caulfield.
45. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life"
― Holden Caulfield.
46. "God, I love it when a kid's nice and polite when you tighten their skate for them or something. Most kids are. They really are"
― Holden Caulfield.
47. "It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out."
― Holden Caulfield.
48. "I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question."
― Holden Caulfield.
49. "If somebody at least listens it not too bad"
― Holden Caulfield.
50. "The catcher in the rye, that's all I really want to be."
― Holden Caulfield.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Holden Caulfield quotes then why not take a look at Simone de Beauvoir quotes, or ancient quotes.
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Master of Business Administration
Deepthi ReddyMaster of Business Administration
With an MBA under her belt, Deepthi has discovered her true calling in content writing. Her writing repertoire is diverse, covering travel, movies, pet care, parenting, animals and birds, and more. Her joy of learning and creating has helped her craft well-written and engaging articles. When she isn't writing, Deepthi enjoys exploring new cultures, trying different foods, and spending quality time with her two children aged 7 and 12.
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