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- Author: J.D. Salinger
- Publication Date: 1951
- Narration: First Person (Holden Caulfield)
- Setting: New York City
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The only novel-length story written by J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye is a story detailing 48 hours in the life of Holden Caulfield. The character is perceived by many as an innocent adrift in a troubled world, while others have blamed the character for inspiring discord in adolescents. For that reason, The Catcher in the Rye has been one of the most banned books in American schools.
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About J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger was born in 1919 in New York City. He began writing in secondary school, focusing mainly on short stories and even having a few published as a young man. He served in World War II and after he returned published the short story, A Perfect Day for Bananafish. Three years later he published The Catcher in the Rye, his first novel. Salinger was not prepared for the instant attention he gained for Rye and as a result became reclusive working very little. He currently lives in New York City and has not given an interview since 1980. -
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The Catcher in the Rye Quotes
- Wikiquote: The Catcher in the Rye
- "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and 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, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." -Holden Caulfield's Opening Statement
- "Look, sir. Don't worry about me," I said. "I mean it. I'll be all right. I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?" -Ch 2
- "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." -Ch 3
- "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." -Ch 16
- "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. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." -Ch 22
- The Quote Garden: Catcher in the Rye Quotes
- "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." -Ch 1
- "I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it." -Ch 1
- "All morons hate it when you call them a moron." -Ch 6
- SparkNotes: The Catcher in the Rye: Important Quotes Explained
- “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”
- “Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.”
- "Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game." -Ch 2
- "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." -Ch 16
- NovelGuide: Top Ten Quotes from The Catcher in the Rye
- "Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad." -Holden
- "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." -Holden, Ch 12
- "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. I didn’t want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory." -Holden, Ch 14
- Generation Terrorists: The Catcher in the Rye Quotes
- "Anyway it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxxon Hall. The game with Saxxon hall was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if Old Pencey didn't win."
- "Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a few guys came from these wealthy families, but it was full of crooks anyway. The more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has - I'm not kidding."
- "People never believe you."
- Savvy Outlook: Quotes from The Catcher in the Rye
- "Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's phony. I could puke every time I hear it."
- "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."
- "After they left, I started getting sorry that I'd only given them ten bucks for their collection. But the thing was, I'd made that date to go to a matinee with old Sally Hayes, and I needed to keep some dough for the tickets and stuff. I was sorry anyway, though. Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell."
- All Great Quotes: The Catcher in the Rye
- "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." -Ch 1
- "People always think something's all true." -Ch 2
- "People never notice anything." -Ch 2
The Catcher in the Rye Quotes on Amazon
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The Catcher in the Rye - $6.99
Amazon.com: The Catcher in the Rye (9780316769488): J.D. Salinger: BooksAmazon
The Catcher in the Rye Quotes Questions
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what are some famous quotes by phoebe in catcher of the rye? 1 Answer'You know that song, "If a body catch a body comin' through the rye"?...' 'It's "If a body meet a body coming through the rye"!' old Phoebe said. "It's a poem.... read more -
What are the characteristics of Holden in The Catcher in the Rye? 1 AnswerHolden, in catcher in rye is.. very hypocritical, and also tends exaggerate a lot of things that happen to him. but at the same time, he does truly care about h... read more -
What are are some great things to eat with or make with rye bread? 3 AnswersRye bread is incredible with patty melts or reubens. Basically sauteed onions, cheese (healthy or otherwise), and your favorite meat or meat substitute work gre... read more
view more questions...
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@DCtoBC ok wait. i may need to actually read catcher in the rye. i found some quotes online - they're kind of brilliant.
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- Wikiquote: The Catcher in the Rye
