“Ms. Wright,” he continues. “A few weeks ago you asked why we were still talking about Holden Caulfield’s hat. Perhaps it’s those moments when we lose our quote-unquote security blankets and see the world for what it truly is that dictates what we’re made of. Do we choose to take the world at face value, accept the phoniness? Or do we push back, try to create a better reality? Holden is one very narrow, very angsty teenage view of the world, which holds some truth but is also very pessimistic. He made up his mind about the world at sixteen. That’s the tragedy of Holden Caulfield.” He folds his
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