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| The American Museum of Natural History |
In chapter 16 of, "The Catcher in the Rye," Holden decides to go looking for his sister Phoebe. He sees a little girl sitting on a park bench, and decides to ask her if she knows Phoebe. The little girl does know her, and she tells Holden that Phoebe is probably on a school trip at the
Museum of Natural History. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City contains twenty-five buildings, forty-six exhibition halls, several research laboratories, a well-known library, and more than thirty-two million varieties of minerals and gems. Holden knows that Phoebe shouldn't be on a school trip because it's a Sunday, but he decides to head to the museum anyways. On his way to the museum, Holden reminisces about the days when he was Phoebe's age, and used to go on field trips to the museum. He mentions his favorite exhibit about Indians, "Sometimes we looked at the animals and sometimes we looked at the stuff the Indians had made in ancient times. Pottery and straw baskets and all stuff like that." (pg. 119). His class always had to walk through this exhibit to get to the auditorium which was always showing a presentation on Columbus. Holden goes on to talk about the exhibit until he reaches the museum, but he decides not to go in. Why do you think Holden admires the Indian exhibit so much? Why did Holden decide to not go in the museum? Did it have anything to do with his field trips as a child? Explain.
Holden admires the indian exhibit so much maybe because Allie really liked indians or holden admires the Indians for a specific reason. Holden may also admire the indians because that might be something special he shared with Allie and he does not want to have that nostalgic feeling when he walks in and sees all of them. There are many possibilities why Holden likes and remembers the indians. I think Holden does not want to go into the museum because he does not want to remember the times when he was there with his class when Allie was still alive. He doesn't want to remember his childhood because that was when he was happy and maybe he is not happy now because of the death of Allie and his ignored cries for help from people around him.
ReplyDeleteI think Holden admires the Indian exhibit because it always stays the same. Holden has many conflicting emotions, and when his thoughts are constantly scattered everywhere at once, he might find it good that the museum is the one constant place in his life. It's always there, and it never changes. I think this comforts Holden because even when he knows he's changing and his views on life is changing he could always visit the museum and find it the exact way that he left it. It's a constant reminder that despite his moving schools a lot, that there are places that can be constant in his life. I think Holden decided not to go into the museum, because he's afraid his experience wouldn't be as happy as the ones in his memories. This time, he's not following a teacher around and he doesn't have a crowd of peers by his side. I think this has to do with his childhood field trips because he doesn't want to make a new, unhappy experience in the museum to think about.
ReplyDeleteHolden admires the Indian exhibit a lot because they are all enclosed in glass cases. He mentions that the best thing about the museum was that everything stayed in its same place and never changed. He remembers the indian exhibit the most because of the different times his class walked through to the auditorium and the different things they would do, just as innocent little kids. When Holden got to the museum, and told us that the decided not to go in, I was a little surprised. He had just told us how great this museum had and all of the fond childhood memories he had there with his class, and then he just decides not to go in? He even tells us that he was looking forward to it and the feeling not go in was sudden and random. He does say that he would go in with Phoebe, but she wasn't there. I think it could possibly relate to his field trips as a child. Holden mentions how interesting it is that when people go back to these non-changing exhibits, the things that change are themselves. Perhaps Holden didn't want to tarnish his memories of being a child in the exhibit with his newfound loneliness and depression. It probably made him uneasy to think of walking down the same halls where he and his old school friends used to go but now just by himself. He says that if Phoebe were there he could go in and I think that's because she would make Holden feel like he was more a child again since he would be with a child.
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