J.D. Salinger

Smiling children clap their hands at all of the happiness in this great big world. Without a care, their imaginations run wild. They lose themselves in colorful stories and delight in life's little things. As time goes by, however, stories end, little things become littler as people grow bigger, and innocence slowly breaks apart and disappears. The smiling child without her innocence is no longer whole, and her world will never be the same. We …

…quite clear. The stories end after the loss of innocence has been acknowledged. The reader, then, can decide what will happen to the character, just as she is left with a choice about what to do with her own adulthood. We can choose to go out with a bang or let the wind blow us where it will. It is most important to remember that one hand remains, and a sound can still be made.