"This fall I think you're riding for-it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn't permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement's designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with. So they gave up looking.
-Mr. Antolini
-Mr. Antolini
In the quote above Mr. Antolini is talking directly to Holden. He is trying to make Holden see that he is on a path to destruction. Holden is trying to achieve the impossible. He wants to keep all kids pure and wishes that no one would ever be phony. This is impossible and that is making Holden depressed and driving him to dislike most of life. One thing that shows Holden is on this fall is his reaction to a swear word in his little sister's school. Holden gets mad and says, "If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the 'f- you' signs in the world. It's impossible." Holden mentions suicide multiple times in the book this is how close he gave up on life. Holden reached a low point in the "fall" and this coupled with other factors in his life enabled him to turn his life around.