"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" Chapter 17 What does it say? He saying that All you do is get smart so you can earn a car, he's also saying that everyone talks about the same stuff, but in their own cliques. Basketball guys don't talk with book club people etc. if your not in the group no one talks to you. What does it mean? I think it mean just what he said everyone sticks to their group you don't try and talk to someone who's not in your group, but each group talks about the same things. Why does it matter? It matters because it seems that Holden really isn't in a clique and it seems as if he really doesn't want to be in One. I think what hes saying is if your in a clique your a phony, because your supposed to do what everyone else in your clique is doing which isn't who you are and I think thats why Holden stay away fom being in a clique.