Catcher In The Rye Quotes Analysis

Words: 1268
Pages: 6

“What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of goodby. 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 goodbye or a bad goodbye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t feel even worse”(4).
Holden’s tone in this quote is one of longingness. He longs for some relationship or connection to the world around him. Holden wants to connect with Pencey and the things around him to try and find something in it that won’t bring him pain and misery.
“On sundays, for instance, old Haas went around shaking hands with everybody’s parents when they drove up to school. He’d be charming as hell and all. Except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents”(14).
In this quote, Holden explains the principal of his old school. The principal
…show more content…
“But my parents, especially my mother, she has ears like a goddam bloodhound”(158).

“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”(173).
The catcher in the rye is the title of the book and also a very important symbol. It symbolizes the innocence and purity of Holden. He never wants to be with the crowd and he would much rather prefer to retreat into his own world than have to deal with the ‘phonies’ and complexities of the world. It also shows that Holden wants to ‘catch’ the kids before they fall of the cliff. This symbolizes that Holden wants to ‘catch’ the kids of this generation before they get corrupted and fall of the cliff into the world of ‘phonies’.
“That’s the horrible trouble. You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody will sneak up and write ‘fuck you’ right under your