--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's full of phonies, and all you do is…" description: "\"It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/j-d-salinger-2-3505_able_it-s-full-of-phonies-and-all-you-do-is-s_2702719.jpg" --- # It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you… ![“It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody…” quote by J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/j-d-salinger-2-3505_able_it-s-full-of-phonies-and-all-you-do-is-s_2702719.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/j-d-salinger-2-3505_able_it-s-full-of-phonies-and-all-you-do-is-s_2702719.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/970/j-d-salinger-2-3505_able_it-s-full-of-phonies-and-all-you-do-is-s_2702719.jpg) > “It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques.” [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A cynical view of youth culture that reduces people to materialistic goals and shallow social groups. **In simple terms:** Youth is reduced to materialism and cliques. Key Takeaway Recognize deeper values beyond surface status. Themes materialism social conformity disillusionment Mood cynical critical Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - high school life - college parties - peer pressure - identity formation Key Concepts existential critique consumer culture Questions to Reflect On - What does true authenticity look like in a consumer-driven world? - How can one resist peer pressure without losing connection? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes the very behaviors it condemns, limiting its critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-smart/) [Clique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clique/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Football team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-team/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/) ## Related quotes > [Take most people, they are crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, they are always talking about have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/take-most-people-they-are-crazy-about-cars-they-worry-if-they-get-a/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Money always ends up making you blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/money-always-ends-up-making-you-blue/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I mean most girls are so dumb and all. After you neck them for a while, you can really watch them losing their brains.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-mean-most-girls-are-so-dumb-and-all-after-you-neck-them-for-a-while-2/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I kept picturing all these little kids in this big field of rye... If they're running and they don't look where they're going, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-kept-picturing-all-these-little-kids-in-this-big-field-of-rye-if/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [God ain't got nothing to do with winning a damn football game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brown/god-ain-t-got-nothing-to-do-with-winning-a-damn-football-game/) [Jim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-brown/) > [“You ought to go to a boys' school sometime. Try it sometime," I said. "It's full of phonies, and all you do is study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ought-to-go-to-a-boys-school-sometime-try-it-sometime-i-said-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's full of phonies and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/it-s-full-of-phonies-and-all-you-do-is-study-so-that-you-can-learn/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Holden Caulfield is the embodiment of what we mean by the phrase “young adult” – too young to be a grown-up, but too wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/holden-caulfield-is-the-embodiment-of-what-we-mean-by-the-phrase/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Jane Gallagher had wanted to know what time it was, but for some reason Holden Caulfield hadn't wanted Stradlater to tell her. When Stradlater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-portman/jane-gallagher-had-wanted-to-know-what-time-it-was-but-for-some/) [Frank Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-portman/) > [Weeping for Anna Karenina and being terrified by Hannibal Lecter, entering the heart of darkness with Mistah Kurtz, having Holden Caulfield ring you up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/weeping-for-anna-karenina-and-being-terrified-by-hannibal-lecter/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today. She's got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt ... way too short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kornheiser/hannah-storm-in-a-horrifying-horrifying-outfit-today-she-s-got-on-red/) [Tony Kornheiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kornheiser/) > [I'm sure the large part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-david-chapman/i-m-sure-the-large-part-of-me-is-holden-caulfield-who-is-the-main/) [Mark David Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-david-chapman/) > [I hit adolescence only to discover my autobiography had already been written; plagiarized, in fact, by a man named J.D. Salinger who, in appropriating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-metcalf/i-hit-adolescence-only-to-discover-my-autobiography-had-already-been/) [Stephen Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-metcalf/) > [I'd never seen that look on another face before, had never identified it in another person. I'd only met with it in fiction. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-d-never-seen-that-look-on-another-face-before-had-never-identified/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) ## More by J. D. Salinger > [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [But where does by far the bulk, the whole ambulance load, of pain really come from? Where must it come from? Isn't the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-where-does-by-far-the-bulk-the-whole-ambulance-load-of-pain/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you'd be so much older or anything. It wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/nobody-d-be-different-the-only-thing-that-would-be-different-would-be/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Sex is something I really don't understand too hot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/sex-is-something-i-really-don-t-understand-too-hot/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Meant-to-be-picked-up books. Permanently-left-behind books. Uncertain-what-to-do-with books. But books, books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/meant-to-be-picked-up-books-permanently-left-behind-books-uncertain/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [But if we come back, if German men come back, if British men come back, and Japs, and French, and all the other men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-if-we-come-back-if-german-men-come-back-if-british-men-come-back/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Then again you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, 'It's a secret between he and I.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/then-again-you-may-pick-up-just-enough-education-to-hate-people-who/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/the-worst-thing-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I'm sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-m-sick-of-not-having-the-courage-to-be-an-absolute-nobody-i-m-sick/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“You keep records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them. If you want to Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/you-keep-records-of-their-troubles-you-ll-learn-from-them-if-you-want/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [I'm aware that many of my friends will be saddened and shocked, or shock-saddened, over some of the chapters in 'The Catcher In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/i-m-aware-that-many-of-my-friends-will-be-saddened-and-shocked-or/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Most stuff that is genuine is better left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/most-stuff-that-is-genuine-is-better-left-unsaid/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [“Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/sex-is-something-i-really-don-t-understand-too-hot-you-never-know/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/an-artist-s-only-concern-is-to-shoot-for-some-kind-of-perfection-and/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Its really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/its-really-hard-to-be-roommates-with-people-if-your-suitcases-are/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) [Explore all 121 J. D. Salinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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