Why did the Old guy's remark depress Holden?

• A. He never had Pencey's happiest days and feared the future would be phony
• B. He believed Pencey was the best place in the world
• C. He felt relieved that his own future would be easy
• D. He thought the old man was too sentimental

Answer: (A)

Holden is being tested on his reaction to a remark from an older adult that echoes his constant worry about authenticity and growing up. The old man’s comment hits Holden where he’s most vulnerable: it suggests that the comfortable, glittering world of Pencey never held real happiness, and that the future beyond it will be full of phoniness. This clashes with Holden’s longing for something genuine and his fear that adulthood will be hollow and insincere. The idea that even Pencey’s glory days weren’t truly happy—and that the years ahead will be plagued by fakery—deeply depresses him because it confirms his suspicion that life tends to disappoint and everything in the adult world is counterfeit.