Looking for deep quotations from your favorite novel Catcher In The Rye? We have rounded up the best collection of Catcher In The Rye quotes, sayings, and lines (with images and pictures) about innocence, identity, connection, belonging, loss, and the phoniness of the adult world.
The Catcher in the Rye is an American coming-of-age novel by J. D. Salinger and is considered one of the best pieces of literature of its time.
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The story revolves around a 16-year-old Holden Caulfield who is a heavy-drinking, cigarette-smoking rich kid who likes women and hates school.
But as you go through the story you also get to see his sensitive and deep-thinking side of him.
The novel was intended for adults, it is usually enjoyed by adolescents for its themes of angst and alienation.
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These famous Catcher in the Rye quotes will give you a different perspective on life and will help you understand the struggles of a teenager.
Top 10 Catcher In The Rye Quotes
- “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” – Catcher In The Rye
Catcher In The Rye Quotes -
“I can’t explain what I mean. And even if I could, I’m not sure I’d feel like it.” – Catcher In The Rye
Quotes From Catcher In The Rye -
“It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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 any more.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“…Someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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. That doesn’t happen much, though.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” – Catcher In The Rye
Best Catcher In The Rye Quotes About Growing Up
- “Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do.” – Catcher In The Rye
The Catcher In The Rye Quotes -
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I’m just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don’t they?” – Catcher In The Rye
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“The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
Catcher In The Rye Famous Quotes
- “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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I am 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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I don’t care if it’s a sad good-bye or a bad good-bye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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. I know that’s impossible, but it’s too bad anyway.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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 half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. They can drive you crazy. They really can.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall. . . . The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. . . . So they gave up looking.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder’s mitt. He was left-handed. The thing that was descriptive about it though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he’d have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up to bat. He’s dead now.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And 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. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.” – Catcher In The Rye
Short Catcher In The Rye Quotes
- “People never notice anything.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Mothers are all slightly insane.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“People are always ruining things for you.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“People always clap for the wrong reasons.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I can be quite sarcastic when I’m in the mood.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Who wants flowers when you’re dead? Nobody.” – Catcher In The Rye
Catcher In The Rye Quotes Images -
“All morons hate it when you call them a moron.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I’m not kidding.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.” – Catcher In The Rye
Important Quotes From Catcher In The Rye -
“I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It’s nice.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“This is a people shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in this hat.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I hate actors. They never act like people. They just think they do.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“You can’t stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Lots of times you don’t know what interests you most till you start talking.” – Catcher In The Rye
Famous Catcher In The Rye Quotes
The Catcher in the Rye has been widely translated and has sold more than 65 million books. The novel was included on Time’s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.
- “Ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I knew it wasn’t too important but it made me sad anyway.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she’s late?” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Almost every time someone gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.” – Catcher In The Rye
Famous Catcher In The Rye Quotes -
“That’s the whole trouble. When you’re feeling depressed, you can’t even think.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“It’s partly true, too, but it isn’t all true. People always think something’s all true.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Grand. There’s a word I really hate. It’s a phony. I could puke every time I hear it.” – Catcher In The Rye
Best Catcher In The Rye Quotes -
“It’s not too bad when the sun’s out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“Lots of time you don’t know what interests you most till you start talking about something that doesn’t interest you most.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“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.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“The guy I like best in the Bible, next to Jesus, was that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs and kept cutting himself with stones. I like him ten times as much as the disciples.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I was trying to feel some kind of good-bye. 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-bye or a bad good-bye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t you feel even worse.” – Catcher In The Rye
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“I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes… If anybody wanted to tell me something, they’d have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They’d get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I’d be through with having conversations for the rest of my life.” – Catcher In The Rye
More About The Catcher In The Rye, JD Salinger, And Holden Caufield
The Catcher in the Rye is an iconic novel that highlights the struggles of teenagers through the story of Holden Caufield.
The novel details two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield after he has been expelled from prep school. Confused and disillusioned, Holden searches for truth and rails against the “phoniness” of the adult world.
Holden the narrator and protagonist of the novel, tells the story of his adventures before the previous Christmas when he had been expelled from Pencey Prep School for failing most of his classes.
Confused and disillusioned, he searches for truth and rails against the superficiality of society. He ends up exhausted and mentally drained.
Through Catcher in the Rye, Salinger tries to expose the flaws and superficiality of society. Through Holden, who is very conscious of how other people act, the author tries to make the readers understand the unconsciousness of society.
Summary & Analysis
The primary concern of Catcher in the Rye is the loss of innocence. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye” – a person who saves children from falling off a cliff, which can be taken as a metaphor for entering adulthood.
However, his attitude seems to change near the end of the story when he realizes that children should be allowed to “grab for the gold ring,”, to choose their risks, even if their attempts are dangerous.
Did these thought-provoking Catcher In The Rye lines help you to look at society differently? Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add? Tell us in the comment section below.
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