--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons…" description: "\"“Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to start getting closer and closer--that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/j-d-salinger-560_first-person_once-you-get-past-all-the-mr-vinsons-you_358500.png" --- # Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to… ![“Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to start getting closer and closer--that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for it--to the kind of information that will be very, very dear to your heart. Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was…” quote by J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/j-d-salinger-560_first-person_once-you-get-past-all-the-mr-vinsons-you_358500.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/j-d-salinger-560_first-person_once-you-get-past-all-the-mr-vinsons-you_358500.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2e/j-d-salinger-560_first-person_once-you-get-past-all-the-mr-vinsons-you_358500.png) > ““Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to start getting closer and closer--that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for it--to the kind of information that will be very, very dear to your heart. Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them--if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.”” [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 passage encourages seeking past struggles in literature, recognizing shared human confusion, and contributing one’s own experiences to a collective knowledge. **In simple terms:** Learn from others’ hardships and share yours. Key Takeaway Read, reflect, and add your voice. Themes literature humanity growth Mood thoughtful philosophical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - reading groups - personal journaling - teaching - writing workshops Key Concepts empathy historical continuity reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - Which stories resonate with your own doubts? - How can you turn personal pain into helpful insight? A Different Perspective Not everyone may relate to the same texts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Human behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-behavior/) ## Related quotes > [“Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to start getting closer and closer—that is, if you want to, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/once-you-get-past-all-the-mr-vinsons-you-re-going-to-start-getting-2/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/among-other-things-you-ll-find-that-you-re-not-the-first-person-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“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/) > [“Every second and every minute of the clock, we are getting closer and closer to our various destinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/every-second-and-every-minute-of-the-clock-we-are-getting-closer-and/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Quit looking over your shoulder, those past loves are never getting closer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quit-looking-over-your-shoulder-those-past-loves-are-never-getting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Making films has been kind of my way of getting closer to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/making-films-has-been-kind-of-my-way-of-getting-closer-to-god/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [It is really no use of getting closer to someone now and then who doesnt love and care about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-really-no-use-of-getting-closer-to-someone-now-and-then-who/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Dance in the light, startin' to see. You started moving, you're getting closer to me. And now you won't even let me go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/dance-in-the-light-startin-to-see-you-started-moving-you-re-getting/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [“I want to find my way to where you are-you, the Kumiko who wants me to rescue her...I wanted to let you know that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-want-to-find-my-way-to-where-you-are-you-the-kumiko-who-wants-me-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Were getting closer and closer to finding a habitable world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-seager/were-getting-closer-and-closer-to-finding-a-habitable-world/) [Sara Seager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-seager/) > [Is what I'm doing or about to do getting us closer to our objective?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-townsend/is-what-i-m-doing-or-about-to-do-getting-us-closer-to-our-objective/) [Robert Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-townsend/) > [This was life, I supposed, running and running and running, and realizing along the way that the phantom was getting closer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hamilton/this-was-life-i-supposed-running-and-running-and-running-and/) [Jane Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hamilton/) > [You can't help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-schwarzkopf/you-can-t-help-someone-get-up-a-hill-without-getting-closer-to-the/) [Norman Schwarzkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-schwarzkopf/) > [“One more, Mr. Straights. I know I'm getting closer and closer to becoming a man. I'm not nearly as in telligent as I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-cooke/one-more-mr-straights-i-know-i-m-getting-closer-and-closer-to/) [Lisa Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-cooke/) > [The truth is what I plan to find And I am getting closer every single day But from this world Im drifting farther away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil-maternick/the-truth-is-what-i-plan-to-find-and-i-am-getting-closer-every-single/) Andrew Neil Maternick ## 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 First person quotes > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/there-were-people-who-incorporated-melody-before-me-but-i-would-deem/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I was the first person in my family to play baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-yelich/i-was-the-first-person-in-my-family-to-play-baseball/) [Christian Yelich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-yelich/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [“It is said to be the age of the first person singular”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-said-to-be-the-age-of-the-first-person-singular/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-part-of-a-healthy-conscience-is-being-able-to-confront/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [“Columbus was not the first person to discover America, but the last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/columbus-was-not-the-first-person-to-discover-america-but-the-last/) [Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/) > [I like embracing kind of normal forms but am always trying to approach them as if no one's ever done that before. As if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/i-like-embracing-kind-of-normal-forms-but-am-always-trying-to/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Alex: Rosie, I wanted you to be the first person to no that I’ve decided to become a heart surgeon! Rosie: Cool, does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/alex-rosie-i-wanted-you-to-be-the-first-person-to-no-that-i-ve/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [“During that war we had a word for extreme man-made disorder which was fubar, an acronym for 'fucked up beyond all recognition.' Well -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/during-that-war-we-had-a-word-for-extreme-man-made-disorder-which-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Browse all 835 First person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you're going to start getting closer and closer--that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for it--to the kind of information that will be very, very dear to your heart. 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