--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing is, it's really hard to be…" description: "\"“The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs--if yours are really good ones and theirs are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/j-d-salinger-560_holden-caulfield_the-thing-is-it-s-really-hard-to-be-room_1645842.jpg" --- # The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people… ![“The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs--if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't. You think if they're intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don't give a damn whose suitcases are…” quote by J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/j-d-salinger-560_holden-caulfield_the-thing-is-it-s-really-hard-to-be-room_1645842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/j-d-salinger-560_holden-caulfield_the-thing-is-it-s-really-hard-to-be-room_1645842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/j-d-salinger-560_holden-caulfield_the-thing-is-it-s-really-hard-to-be-room_1645842.jpg) > ““The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs--if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't. You think if they're intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don't give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do. They really do.”” [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. People judge each other based on material possessions, even when they claim to value deeper qualities. **In simple terms:** Material status influences relationships. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden status concerns. Themes status materialism relationships humor Mood reflective wry insightful Type observational humorous social commentary When to use this quote - college dorms - shared apartments - roommate conflicts - team projects - family living arrangements Key Concepts social comparison selfesteem group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do possessions affect your friendships? - Can you separate status from personal value? A Different Perspective Even when intellect and humor are present, material envy can dominate interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Roommates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roommates/) [Sense of humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-humor/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“It's hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/it-s-hard-to-be-roommates-with-people-if-your-suitcases-are-much/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“It's really hard to be roomates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs--if yours are the really good ones and theirs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/it-s-really-hard-to-be-roomates-with-people-if-your-suitcases-are/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The people you live with at college, those first roommates often are people you're still friends with the rest of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/the-people-you-live-with-at-college-those-first-roommates-often-are/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [“Girls with their legs crossed, girls with their legs not crossed, girls with terrific legs, girls with lousy legs, girls that looked like swell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/girls-with-their-legs-crossed-girls-with-their-legs-not-crossed-girls/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-don-t-give-a-damn-except-that-i-get-bored-sometimes-when-people/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/besides-i-m-not-going-to-tell-you-my-whole-autobiography-or-anything/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“That digression business got on my nerves. I don't now. The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/that-digression-business-got-on-my-nerves-i-don-t-now-the-trouble/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“When I really worry about something, I don´t just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/when-i-really-worry-about-something-i-don-t-just-fool-around-i-even/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/last-year-i-made-a-rule-that-i-was-going-to-quit-horsing-around-with/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-m-standing-on-the-edge-of-some-crazy-cliff-what-i-have-to-do-i-have/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/d-b-asked-me-what-i-thought-about-all-this-stuff-i-just-finished/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [ “\[Ackley\] took another look at my hat . . . “Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake,”… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/ackley-took-another-look-at-my-hat-up-home-we-wear-a-hat-like-that-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“I don’t even like old cars. I mean, they don’t even interest me at all. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-don-t-even-like-old-cars-i-mean-they-don-t-even-interest-me-at-all/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“Lawyers are alright, I guess — but it doesn't appeal to me", I said. "I mean they're alright if they go around saving innocent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/lawyers-are-alright-i-guess-but-it-doesn-t-appeal-to-me-i-said-i-mean/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) ## 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 Holden caulfield quotes > [ 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/) > [“He knew he was sounding a little Holden Caulfield-esque calling everyone a phony, but he really did think everyone was a phony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mlynowski/he-knew-he-was-sounding-a-little-holden-caulfield-esque-calling/) [Sarah Mlynowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mlynowski/) > [I have one of those very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I'd probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-one-of-those-very-loud-stupid-laughs-i-mean-if-i-ever-sat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Girls with their legs crossed, girls with their legs not crossed, girls with terrific legs, girls with lousy legs, girls that looked like swell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/girls-with-their-legs-crossed-girls-with-their-legs-not-crossed-girls/) [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/) > [“I don’t even like old cars. I mean, they don’t even interest me at all. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-don-t-even-like-old-cars-i-mean-they-don-t-even-interest-me-at-all/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [ “\[Ackley\] took another look at my hat . . . “Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake,”… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/ackley-took-another-look-at-my-hat-up-home-we-wear-a-hat-like-that-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [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/) > [“D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/d-b-asked-me-what-i-thought-about-all-this-stuff-i-just-finished/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [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/) > [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’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-m-standing-on-the-edge-of-some-crazy-cliff-what-i-have-to-do-i-have/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [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/) > [“Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/last-year-i-made-a-rule-that-i-was-going-to-quit-horsing-around-with/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) Browse all 45 Holden caulfield quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs--if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't. 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