Holden's Ego In 'Catcher In The Rye'

This passage clearly identifies Holden’s ego, where the readers can easily depict his concern about his mother spending time and money on a present, yet they were the wrong kind. The concept of his own mother buying him a gift when he is now being kicked out of school depresses him. However, he seems to contradict his own feelings because he makes it clear that he is ready to get away from school without thinking twice. This is exemplified as the id’s manifestation with the thought of knowing how disappointed his family will be known as the ego’s manifestation. Another factor in Holden’s depression is the museum he visits every year. Holden doesn’t seem to appreciate the meaning behind the exhibits in the museum. He dislikes how the artifacts
remain the same year after year and are never improvised or changed. Yet he comes to the realization that although the aspects of the museum remain the same, each and every time you visit the museum, you yourself are different. “The best thing, though, in that museum was 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” (121). The museum put Holden in a deeper state of depression because he came to the harsh realization that time will not stop. Although the objects inside may be frozen in time, he is not and he must grow up as the year’s pass. Holden quickly came to the conclusion that the museum is not equivalent to a time machine, therefore it is unable to bring home his deceased brother. While the museum was a large factor in Holden’s depression, it was evident that the merry-go-round was quite the opposite.