100+ Best Catcher in the Rye Book Quotes That Capture Holden’s Soul

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes."

"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was."

"She's quite skinny, but full of life, and she has this sort of red hair. It isn't really red, but more like yellowish-red."

"I kept thinking of all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all."

"You ought to see her. She's a pretty smart kid."

"She hasn't got very much sense, but she's got good sense."

"Her blue suit with the fur collar still looked good, and she didn't look old or anything."

"I'm crazy about kids."

"She was sitting on the floor, folding up a bunch of my things."

"I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it?"

"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it."

"It makes me so depressed I go crazy. I don’t even know why."

"People never notice anything."

"I’m always saying ‘Glad to’ve met you’ to somebody I’m not at all glad I met."

"That’s the whole trouble. You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful."

"One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies."

"They were showing 'The 49th Parallel'... it wasn’t so bad, but it was full of war stuff."

"It drove me damn near crazy. I could hear them yelling ‘Hep! Hep!’"

"He had this very loud, phony laugh."

"What he was doing was, he was practicing being a lawyer."

"Grand people, my parents. They’re quite touchy about anything touching their children."

"He was always saying ‘See you later,’ but he never meant it."

"It’s funny. Don’t you think it’s funny?"

"I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead."

"I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill."

"I nearly puked. I couldn’t help it."

"I sat there for about twenty minutes, feeling rotten."

"I started reading this book called ‘Out of Africa.’"

"I didn’t want to go home or anything. It made me too sad and lonesome."

"I was all alone. The only girl around was this prostitute."

"I was crying and all. I don’t know why."

"I felt like jumping out the window."

"I walked down Madison Avenue without my hat."

"I was all alone. I didn’t care."

"I kept walking and walking. I didn’t know where I was going."

"I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life."

"I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot."

"I’m always saying ‘Glad to’ve met you’ when I’m not."

"I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by."

"I’m sort of glad they’ve got the atomic bomb invented."

"I was feeling pretty spooky."

"I’m the kind of guy who likes to talk on the phone."

"I’m not kidding myself."

"I’m not very religious."

"I’m not interested in girls much."

"I’m not mad. I’m just very tired."

"I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography."

"He had a tumor on his brain—on the wrong side."

"He was very friendly, but also sort of haughty."

"I slept in the garage the night he died."

"I broke all the windows in the garage with my fist."

"He was the nicest, kindest kid I ever knew."

"I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed."

"You should’ve seen him. He was always scribbling poems."

"He wrote this poem about the birds and the weather."

"I keep his baseball mitt with the poems written all over it."

"It kills me. I mean it really does."

"I still miss him like crazy."

"I wish I’d gotten a chance to say good-by."

"I’m always getting kicked out of places."

"I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes."

"I didn’t want to go back to school. I hated it."

"I told them to go to hell."

"I wasn’t supposed to be out so late."

"I wasn’t in the mood to hang around."

"I said I had to go to the gym to get my equipment."

"I didn’t want to take the elevator. I wanted to walk."

"I wasn’t going to stick around and wait."

"I decided I’d better not try to sleep."

"I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to do anything."

"I figured I’d just go down and leave my bags."

"I really liked her. I mean it."

"She was very pretty and all."

"I was in love with her for a while."

"I didn’t want to hurt her feelings."

"I wanted to call her. I really did."

"She kept looking at me like I was a madman."

"I told her I loved her. I really did."

"I didn’t want to make her cry."

"I just wanted to hold her hand."

"I was scared I’d mess it up."

"I didn’t know what to say."

"I just wanted to be close to someone."

"I didn’t learn anything. Probably I could’ve, but I didn’t."

"I flunked Oral Expression."

"They give you a lot of crap about being gentlemen."

"I wasn’t going to be a goddam surgeon or violinist."

"I was surrounded by phonies and conceited bastards."

"I was in the goddam middle of the whole stupid foils tournament."

"I was supposed to return the fencing equipment."

"I lost the whole team’s equipment on the subway."

"I wasn’t even in the mood to practice."

"I didn’t want to go back. I hated it."

"I didn’t feel like studying. I never did."

"I was supposed to write a composition for old Spencer."

"I felt like I was disappearing."

"I started to cry. I couldn’t help it."

"I was feeling so damn depressed."

"I couldn’t sleep. I was too nervous."

"I kept thinking I was going to die."

"I didn’t want to talk to anybody."

"I was afraid I might vanish."

"I wanted to call somebody. I didn’t know who."

"I didn’t feel like I belonged somewhere."

"I was scared. I really was."

"I didn’t know what the hell I was doing."

"I just wanted to feel something real."

"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it."

"I was sort of glad when I saw Phoebe."

"She looked so damn nice, the way she was riding."

"I felt better. I really did."

"I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy."

"I didn’t want her to fall off the carousel."

"I was standing on the sidewalk, watching her."

"I was so damn happy I could hardly stand it."

"I really felt sorry for old Phoebe."

"I wanted to protect her from falling."

"I didn’t want anything to happen to her."

"I guess I’ll have to go back to school next year."