--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For about a whole month, at least…" description: "\"“For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said anything that sounded campusy or phony, or that smelled to high heaven of ego or something li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png" --- # For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said… ![“For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said anything that sounded campusy or phony, or that smelled to high heaven of ego or something like that, I at least kept quiet about it. I went to the movies or I stayed in the library all hours or I started writing papers like made on…” quote by J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png) > ““For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said anything that sounded campusy or phony, or that smelled to high heaven of ego or something like that, I at least kept quiet about it. I went to the movies or I stayed in the library all hours or I started writing papers like made on Restoration Com edy and stuff like that—but at least I had the pleas ure of not hearing my own voice for a while.”” [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator retreats from ego‑driven chatter by immersing in solitary activities, gaining silence and self‑reflection. **In simple terms:** He avoids noisy ego by hiding in books and movies. Key Takeaway Seek quiet to hear yourself. Themes self‑reflection solitude ego distraction Mood introspective calm Type personal reflective When to use this quote - writing - reading - movie‑watching - academic research Key Concepts introversion mindfulness creative focus Questions to Reflect On - What do you lose when you always stay quiet? - How can solitude become productive? A Different Perspective Silence may also isolate and prevent needed dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“She was a poem and a painting too. Everything she said sounded like a song, every silence was the music too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-vasu/she-was-a-poem-and-a-painting-too-everything-she-said-sounded-like-a/) [Akshay Vasu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-vasu/) > [I made a concerned effort to focus. There was something I needed to say. The most important thing. I love you," I said, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-made-a-concerned-effort-to-focus-there-was-something-i-needed-to/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Someone said you sounded like an owl. A: Who?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-macdonald/someone-said-you-sounded-like-an-owl-a-who/) [Peter MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-macdonald/) > [I never had tons of friends on tour. I was quiet and went about my business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-davenport/i-never-had-tons-of-friends-on-tour-i-was-quiet-and-went-about-my/) [Lindsay Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-davenport/) > [“And a beautiful garden, not far from a beautiful lake, and I said it sounded perfectly perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-a-beautiful-garden-not-far-from-a-beautiful-lake-and-i-said-it/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“When she said his name, it sounded like honey tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/when-she-said-his-name-it-sounded-like-honey-tastes/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess I’m just intrigued to know what sort of man could win the heart of someone like you Kate.” I raised an eyebrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-l-smith/i-guess-i-m-just-intrigued-to-know-what-sort-of-man-could-win-the/) [Emma L Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-l-smith/) > [“I was a shy kid and I was afraid what i said sounded stupid, so I hardly ever saud anything. I was the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-meno/i-was-a-shy-kid-and-i-was-afraid-what-i-said-sounded-stupid-so-i/) [Joe Meno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-meno/) > [“Maybe we could, um, go sit in the truck?" he said, but even as he said it, it sounded so dumb. And not exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/maybe-we-could-um-go-sit-in-the-truck-he-said-but-even-as-he-said-it/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [“Ronan,” he said. It sounded like he meant to say Finally. “Dad,” Ronan said. He was going to say I missed you. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/ronan-he-said-it-sounded-like-he-meant-to-say-finally-dad-ronan-said/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [ I was talking about \[Donald\] Trump and certain things he was saying, that he wanted to go into Iraq and just "take the oil."… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-was-talking-about-donald-trump-and-certain-things-he-was-saying/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [“Well, when you lit up the Eiffel Tower, you said something that sounded like eggness.” “Ignis,” the count said. “Latin for fire. No, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/well-when-you-lit-up-the-eiffel-tower-you-said-something-that-sounded/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [“The lies you told sounded like the truth. But the true things you said still sounded like a lie.-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colyn-wilson/the-lies-you-told-sounded-like-the-truth-but-the-true-things-you-said/) Colyn Wilson > [“Right,” I said once more, because it sounded firm, and because Armand’s brittle desolation was beginning to eat at me. None of this, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/right-i-said-once-more-because-it-sounded-firm-and-because-armand-s/) [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) > [“I'm going to go hunt some zombie," he said. It would have sounded pretty cool if his voice hadn't cracked in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-harris/i-m-going-to-go-hunt-some-zombie-he-said-it-would-have-sounded-pretty/) [Carrie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-harris/) ## More by J.D. Salinger > [“I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all… I'm standing on the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-keep-picturing-all-these-little-kids-playing-some-game-in-this-big/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“If you're a poet, you do something beautiful. I mean you're supposed to leave something beautiful after you get off the page and everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/if-you-re-a-poet-you-do-something-beautiful-i-mean-you-re-supposed-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was… The only thing that would be different would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/the-best-thing-though-in-that-museum-was-that-everything-always/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“And you make people nervous, young man," she said - most equably, for her. "You either take to somebody or you don't. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/and-you-make-people-nervous-young-man-she-said-most-equably-for-her/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“I still think that, in a way, I can't get past half my childhood dogmas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-still-think-that-in-a-way-i-can-t-get-past-half-my-childhood-dogmas/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“He stuck around till around dinnertime, talking about all the guys at Pencey that he hated their guts, and squeezing this big pimple on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/he-stuck-around-till-around-dinnertime-talking-about-all-the-guys-at/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“For example, when Seymour told one of the twins or Zooey or Franny or even Mme. Boo Boo (who was only two years younger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-example-when-seymour-told-one-of-the-twins-or-zooey-or-franny-or/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“One thing? One thing I like? Okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/one-thing-one-thing-i-like-okay/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“The cigars are ballast, sweetheart. Sheer ballast. If he didn’t have a cigar to hold on to, his feet would leave the ground. We’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/the-cigars-are-ballast-sweetheart-sheer-ballast-if-he-didn-t-have-a/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“They're just people that write poems that get published and anthologized all over the place but they're not poets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/they-re-just-people-that-write-poems-that-get-published-and/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“In certain Zen monasteries, it's a cardinal rule, if not the only serious enforced discipline, that when one monk calls out 'Hi!' to another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/in-certain-zen-monasteries-it-s-a-cardinal-rule-if-not-the-only/) [j.d. salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“And I hate to tell you... but I think that once you have a fair idea where you want to go, your first move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/and-i-hate-to-tell-you-but-i-think-that-once-you-have-a-fair-idea/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“Hi,' he said. He always said it like he was terrifically bored or terrifically tired. He didn't want you to think he was visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/hi-he-said-he-always-said-it-like-he-was-terrifically-bored-or/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [ “\[Y\]ou’re someone who took up birds in the first place because they fired your imagination; they fascinated you because ‘they seemed of all created… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/y-ou-re-someone-who-took-up-birds-in-the-first-place-because-they/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) [Explore all 416 J.D. Salinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) ## More Sounded quotes > [Where. Is. He?" Alphonse repeated, although it sounded more like "Don't make me eat your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/where-is-he-alphonse-repeated-although-it-sounded-more-like-don-t/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [In our hands, even the straightest lyric sounded shady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-young/in-our-hands-even-the-straightest-lyric-sounded-shady/) [Angus Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-young/) > [“A rumble gurgled through the space between them. "Was that you?" She looked down. "Was that me?" "That noise. It sounded like a growl."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candis-terry/a-rumble-gurgled-through-the-space-between-them-was-that-you-she/) [Candis Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candis-terry/) > [I had been walking in silence for so long,I had almost forgotten what my own voice sounded like.My knees were tired;my toes were beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-been-walking-in-silence-for-so-long-i-had-almost-forgotten-what/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [He sounded to me like he's supposed to be the savior of jazz. Sometimes people speak as though someone asked them a question. Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/he-sounded-to-me-like-he-s-supposed-to-be-the-savior-of-jazz/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I got a call in the middle of the night, heavy breathing never sounded quite so nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiss/i-got-a-call-in-the-middle-of-the-night-heavy-breathing-never-sounded/) [KISS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiss/) > [...It sounded like a dragon breathing in time with me, like I had this pet dragon who was cuddled up next to me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-sounded-like-a-dragon-breathing-in-time-with-me-like-i-had-this/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nor use too swelling, or ill-sounded words . . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/nor-use-too-swelling-or-ill-sounded-words/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [My voice kept going; I just couldn't work out what the hell was happening. I kept trying to have voice rest, or take more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fearne-cotton/my-voice-kept-going-i-just-couldn-t-work-out-what-the-hell-was/) [Fearne Cotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fearne-cotton/) > [It was scary how much she sounded like me sometimes. Maybe that's why she totally got on my nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/it-was-scary-how-much-she-sounded-like-me-sometimes-maybe-that-s-why/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [As soon as I could talk, I was bellowing at the top of my lungs. My parents couldn't get over how weird I sounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-june/as-soon-as-i-could-talk-i-was-bellowing-at-the-top-of-my-lungs-my/) [Valerie June](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-june/) > [“His voice sounded like molten metal. As if he had something thick at the back of his throat and it was making him sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-stein/his-voice-sounded-like-molten-metal-as-if-he-had-something-thick-at/) [Charlotte Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-stein/) > [There was much conversation, most of which sounded like the rest of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/there-was-much-conversation-most-of-which-sounded-like-the-rest-of-it/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [If you met me in London, you might be appalled at how English I sounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pollyanna-mcintosh/if-you-met-me-in-london-you-might-be-appalled-at-how-english-i-sounded/) [Pollyanna McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pollyanna-mcintosh/) > [We deliberately used elements from Brazilian music and from African and Asian music. Now people can hear that but then it sounded so abstract,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-deliberately-used-elements-from-brazilian-music-and-from-african/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) Browse all 113 Sounded quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said anything that sounded campusy or phony, or that smelled to high heaven of ego or something like that, I at least kept quiet about it. I went to the movies or I stayed in the library all hours or I started writing papers like made on Restoration Com edy and stuff like that—but at least I had the pleas ure of not hearing my own voice for a while.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.D. Salinger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-whenever-anybody-said-anything-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sounded" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-whenever-anybody-said-anything-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/j-d-salinger-560_sounded_for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-wheneve_3158993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For about a whole month, at least, whenever anybody said anything that sounded campusy or phony, or that…” — J.D. Salinger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "J.D. Salinger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For about a whole month, at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-whenever-anybody-said-anything-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-about-a-whole-month-at-least-whenever-anybody-said-anything-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```