The Catcher in the Rye Quotes

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap,...”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:truth

“If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late?”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:women

“All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:understanding

“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.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:friendship

“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, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:friendshipreading

“I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful. She knocked me out, though.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:beauty

“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.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:good

“I used to think she was quite intelligent, in my stupidity.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:stupidityintelligence

“I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and...”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:stupidity

“I mean he was very intelligent and all, but you could tell he didn't have too much brains.”

― J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

topic:stupidityintelligence