What is the sgnificance of Holden’s claim that he loves the museum?
Holden, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, claims that he loves the museum. He loves the museum because that museum never changes. “The best thing, though, in that museum that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move…Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121). Holden seems to like things that don’t change. The displays in the museum are frozen and unchanging. Holden wishes to live in a world similar to the museum. He wants a simple, uncorrupted, and unchanging world. His love for the museum reflects his hatred for the constantly changing and unpredictable world.
It also seems as if he wants to be able to judge the museum displays without being judged by them. He hates how in the real world, phony people are constantly judging him.
After telling the readers about how much he loves the museum, Holden suddenly decides not to go in to the museum. This was a strange twist in the story. When I first read this part, I was confused. It got me to think carefully about Holden’s actions, and I realized that Holden was starting to change. Right before arriving at the entrance of the museum, Holden comes across some kids play on a seesaw. He helps them play by pushing one side of the seesaw, but the kids seem like they don’t want Holden around. I think that this incident impacted Holden. He is slowly realizing that the simple, unrealistic and static child world is not a world in which he belongs. As a result, he decides to not go into the museum.
Holden claims that he loves the museum because of its unchanging nature. Holden seems to idealize this kind of frozen world. However, he begins to change as he slowly realizes that his idealistic world is no longer for him.
I had very similar ideas as you about the museum. He seems to want to stay in place where things can stay constant all the time. Thus, he wants to stay as a young child and refuses to fit into a society where people at his age belong. The interesting part from your post that I didn't recognize before is the relation between his refusal to go to into the museum and the kids he sees plating on a seesaw. This is actually really sad for Holden because he wants to be the catcher for the little children, but they don't seem to want him in their lives. Since he doesn't belong anywhere specifically, he ends up feeling more confused and lost at the same time. Like you said, such an event led him to realization that he can no longer avoid and escape from the reality. (147 words)
ReplyDeleteOur thoughts about the museum in Holden's eyes are very alike. I agree that he loves the museum because it never changes. Holden does not adapt to change very well. He likes to stay in a frozen world where nothing ever will. I think this because he wants everyone to stay at a young age. When one is young, our minds are not corrupt. We are naive, playful, and moral children. However, staying young forever is impossible. I liked how you wrote about Holden realizing the world he wants to live in is not where he belongs. Holden is starting to realize his version of an "ideal world" is a place where he is unaccepted. Therefore, he does not want to go in the museum because he does not want the it to perceive the truth about how his version of an ideal world will never come true. (148 words)
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