Brain:

Holden’s time spent at Pencey was filled with friends who Holden constantly look down upon. With critical perspectives, complaints over school, and depression, Holden Caulfield has many complicated, dark thoughts that haunt him. When Holden leaves Pencey, experiencing mixed emotions, he screams “Sleep tight, Ya morons!” (52). Despite the relationships made, he tries to convince himself that he will be better off without them. When Holden shares his thoughts with the reader, he only seems to criticize the “phonies” (156); never himself. Being the critical person Holden is, the gavel symbolizes the judgmental and subjective thoughts Holden used through out the book.