I wondered if he had ever had a choice, or if he had ever felt trapped. Or if he had ever imagined a different life.
Holling's father expects him to comply to everything he says and to one day inherit his architecture company and follow in his footsteps. Holling, of course, wants to think and decide for himself what he wants to be. He sees his father as greedy yet pitiful, thinking how he just became what everyone expected him to become, and wonders if he had dreamed of a different life.
And perhaps we practice because we feel as if there's nothing else we can do, because sometimes it feels as if life is governed by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Out of the fear of nuclear war, the new principal orders drills for safety measures in the case of an attack. Every day, several times a day students practice hiding under the table and breathing slowly and calmly. One day while Mrs. Baker and Holling are going through this Mrs. Baker finally snaps and admits to Holling how useless it is, but they still do it because it is in human nature to think if they are prepared then nothing bad can happen, or it is just a way to cope with inability to prevent fortune.
Or maybe he never had someone to tell him that he didn't need to find himself. He just needed to let himself be found.
Holling is talking about Shakespeare's Hamlet and draws conclusion to the plays mirroring his own experiences. He just brought back his sister home and this little boy has a better understanding of human nature than his despicable father. He ignores their previous fights and arguments and understands his role as a brother that needs to be there for his sister, needs to show her that he will always be there to find her.
