The Catcher in the Rye | Quotes

The novel's first sentence establishes The Catcher in the Rye as a fictional autobiography, in which a narrator tells about his life, and rejects that genre's rules. Immediately Holden Caulfield presents himself as in control of his story.

This speech reveals Holden's love of narrative and warns readers that he is an unreliable narrator.

Holden is describing Stradlater. His assessment of the quid pro quo nature of adult life is not incorrect, and his observation about Stradlater shows he understands that some people feel entitled to take more than their share. Holden considers such behavior phony.

The crowd's mad applause for Ernie's embellished piano style is further evidence for Holden that the phony adult world values the wrong things.

Holden's ambivalence about sex is caused in part by his sources of information. His peers brag about sexual encounters, but Holden doesn't know whether they're telling the truth. If they are, then they are taking advantage of the girls. Such behavior clashes with Holden's protective, respectful, and basically decent nature.

One phony aspect of the adult world is class distinctions, which are manifested by how people dress and what they own. Wealth shouldn't matter, but it does. Intelligence and wit should matter, but they don't. This depresses Holden.

Holden's love for the museum stems from the fact that nothing changes there. The museum is a stark contrast to his own life and to the process of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

Holden describes to Sally his vision of adult life, which is to say his vision of hell, to contrast with his fantasy life in the cabin.

Holden shows that the only role he can picture himself in as an adult is as someone who protects innocent children. Evoking the key symbol in the novel, he displays his ambivalence toward becoming an adult.

Holden explains to Mr. Antolini why he prefers digressions to staying on topic. His own excitement about the subject reveals his intellectual curiosity and suggests that, once he discovers a field of study that interests him, he'll do fine academically.

Holden's final lines are evidence that the alienated and lonely young man was, in fact, seeking and finding human connection. The people who cross paths with him during the madman days shape him, and he feels their absence now that he is a continent away from them.