Holden and Stability

            Holden likes the museum so much because it is the only consistent thing in his life right now. It was one of the only stable things in his childhood; one of the only things he could count on. He could always depend on it to always be there, and he wouldn’t be let down by it. The museum was always the same, and it will always stay the same, unlike everything else in his life. The concept of consistency is what I mean to make clear, it’s not necessarily the material in the museum, or even the museum itself, but what it means to Holden. It is the feeling of dependency and stability in his life that he hasn’t ever had. It’s the idea and the consequence he receives when he confides in the museum, because, in theory, anything could take the place of the museum in his life. If the object can be depended on, Holden could put his trust into it. Holden puts his confidence in cigarettes, alcohol, his sister, and himself, because he believe he won’t be betrayed by those things. He believes that he can’t possibly be betrayed by the museum, so he puts stock into it.

            Holden has had a very inconsistent life. He has changed to multiple different schools, which is a very drastic change in a child’s life. At first, he probably put trust into people in his first people, and into the school itself. But the he consequentially was betrayed, in a sense, by the school because he was taken from it. When something like this happens over and over again he begins to put less and less trust into things. I think that is what fuels the hate of school, because he has had to leave so many different ones, which result in the feeling of betrayal towards any school. He makes a generalization based on his past experiences, and refuses to trust anything anymore. When his little brother died, his family life drastically changed, creating inconsistency. At one moment everything was the same, he was in his comfort zone, and the next moment he was ripped from everything he knew, being forced into leaving his comfort zone. Holden has had a hard life, not in the sense of physical abuse, but emotional inconsistency, which I think he perceived as emotional abuse. This contributes to his trust issues, and why he likes the museum so much.

            Like the Indians in the glass boxes in the museum, I think Holden would want to be thrown in a glass box also. He wouldn’t have to deal with the world anymore, and would be taking the easy way out of life. He hates people in general, and is very antisocial. I don’t think that he would mind being left alone. I personally think it would do him some good, because he would only have himself, so he could get to know himself. Holden is lost, and doesn’t have the slightest clue of who he is. In addition, I think that Holden would throw all the people he dislikes in to a glass box, if he had the chance. Again, he would be taking the easy way out of life, which he tends to do.

            Holden decides to not go into the museum because he is scared. I think he is scared that the museum has changed. This would lead to more feelings of betrayal in his life, and he would lose something yet again. I think he is also scared to trust something again, or go back to something he once trusted, because he has lived his life without any trust for a while now. If he went into the museum, it could bring back happiness, which Holden hates. He is in such a negative state in his life that being happy would force him to change. Depression is his comfort zone, so he shuts out everything positive, because he is comfortable. Realizing that there may be something good out there in the world would challenge the way he is living right now, which would take him out of his comfort zone.