According to Teddy, the ten year old genius, " Logic's the first thing you have to get rid" of". Teddy says this while explaining that logic can only cause trouble while thinking of every day subjects. Is Teddy, a young boy in post WWII education, using this idea of non-logic as form of post war America or present day America. Nicholson, a teacher of post WWII education, questions Teddy on his logics and reasons. They both differ on what is and what is not logic and reasoning. Together they form a contrasting view of America and society and how it is today and how it was yester year. Salinger proposes this idea during a conversation between Teddy and Nicholson. While both Teddy and Nicholson are Salinger philosophers, their different logics and reasonings convey the ideas of post war America and present day America.
             By Salinger using two different philosophers in his story Teddy, he can convey two different views of two different thinking generations. The first part of Teddy and Nicholson' s conversation is that of emotions. While Teddy says "I wish I knew why people think it's so important to be emotional (186)" and goes on to say how he's parents think "don't think a person's human unless he thinks a lot of things are very sad or very annoying... he (Teddy's father) thinks I'm inhuman (186)." Nicholson replies with "I take it you have no emotions (186).", and Teddy counter backs with "If I do, I don't remember when I saw I ever used them...I don't see what they're good for (186)." This tells the reader that already Teddy does think like an everyday 10-year-old boy of that era. This story takes place after WWII; America at that time was still highly emotional from the war and this boy is telling this adult that emotions really don't serve a purpose because they are not reliable enough to believe in. When...