After reflecting on Antolini's gesture, Holden's view is that ...

• A. He should rely on friends rather than adults.
• B. He should listen to all adult advice without question.
• C. His own judgment was off.
• D. He should not trust anyone again.

Answer: (C)

Holden learns that his own judgments can mislead him, especially when he reads people through the lens of his cynicism. After Antolini’s gesture, Holden initially reads the moment as suspect or threatening, filtering it through his fear that adults are phonies. But when he reflects on what happened, he realizes that his reaction says more about his own state of mind than about Antolini’s intent. The gesture wasn’t simply another sign of danger; it revealed that his perception had been off, and that he can misinterpret people and situations when his emotions are running high. So the takeaway is that his own judgment was off, not that the world is only unreliable or that he should abandon trust altogether. It isn’t about replacing adults with friends, blindly accepting all adult advice, or cutting himself off from trust entirely.