Catcher In The Rye Baseball Quotes

In this excerpt from the beginning of the novel called The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield speaks to his psychologist about his deceased younger brother. Salinger includes this quote from Holden in order to offer the reader some understanding of his actions and attitude throughout the book, and it also enforces the thought that Holden is a character struggling with teen grief, misunderstood by his parents and the peers around him. In this quote, he seems to be lost in thought of the detail of his younger brother's baseball mitt, even remembering the "green ink" (Salinger) that was used on it. Because of this, readers can infer that Holden has spent much time with this mitt and that such an object has a great amount of sentimental value to him because it was a possession of a person that he cared greatly about. However, despite his pain, Holden does not allow himself to process his grief properly; he instead puts up a sort of facade of passiveness towards the death of younger brother. For example, Holden does this when he nonchalantly says, "He's dead now... You'd have liked him" (Salinger). This passage shows a side of

Salinger, Holden Caulfield is kicked out of Pencey University because of his inability to show initiative in his schoolwork. After receiving the news that he must leave, Holden visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, in order to say goodbye. During their conversation, Mr. Spencer tells Holden, "Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules" (Salinger). After hearing that, Holden does not agree because he recognizes that life's game is an unfair one, one that is rigged and where one can easily have a better chance at winning than another. Holden does not believe that people play "according to the rules" (Salinger) because he recognizes the different privileges that some possess while others struggle without them.