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
The Catcher in the Rye. Mr. Antolini in Chapter 24. Mr. Antolini explains to Holden that he is not alone in his feelings of disgust for human behavior, but many people have shared the same concerns about the honesty and integrity of the culture they live in. Holden went to Mr. Antolini in the first instance because he feels he can trust and confide in him. But his interaction with his former teacher becomes the event that precipitates his full-blown breakdown. He is left unsettled, confused and unsure. Not just because of what he interprets as a homosexual come-on from Mr. Antolini, but also because of the conversation they have.