“Do you know what I miss most about Rosemary? Simply knowing she was there.”

“If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about.[...] It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

“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. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. All I know about it is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

“I'm in love with you, Rosemary Rose. Madly and irrevocably in love. What do you propose to do about it?”

“I often think about her. One thing she said stayed with me, a dagger in my heart: "You know for me the most horrible thing of all is knowing that he will forget me."I lacked the presence of mind to tell her that it was impossible; she was simply unforgettable.”

“Most people miss so much of what they are, but the tragedy is they miss it without knowing that they missed it.”