Essay: Holden's Red Hunting Hat

1) Page 16: Holden explains that his hat represents his individuality. Even though his hat looks “very corny” turned around, he likes that it looks different from the way anyone else would wear

While Holden was in New York for a fencing competition, he purchased a red hunting hat and this hat has come up numerous times during important parts of the story. For example, when Holden was writing about Allie’s baseball mitt and after he left Pencey. Holden wears his hat as a way to show who he really is, even though he is not comfortable wearing it in public , “I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I liked it,”(Salinger 68). Although Holden feels embarrassed when he wears his hat out in public it is a way for him to feel more confident in his own skin rather than being depressed all the time. The red hunting hat is a symbol shown again and again about who Holden really is as a person. It shows that he likes and enjoys doing unusual things, but at the same time is cautious about where he wears his favorite

Furthermore, both Salinger and Shelley display an effective use of motifs which also assist in demonstrating the theme of innocence and corruption. The most recognized motif used by Salinger is without a doubt Holden’s red hunting hat. Salinger suggests that the hat is a symbol of Holden’s uniqueness and individuality. The hat is a bit strange, which shows Holden’s desire to be different from everyone else, thus isolating himself from others. It is worth noticing that the colour of the hat, red, is the same as that of Allie and Phoebe’s hair. Perhaps Holden associates his hat with the

Along with Phoebe, his red hunting hat obtains a similar amount of value to him. Salinger symbolizes the hat as protection from adulthood and his depression. Phoebe, who symbolizes childhood innocence, acts as an escape from adulthood and depression. With this, Holden decides to give his hat to Phoebe, preserving the innocence. Even though these contain the most value, when moving on, he lets them go to start his new life and preserve its importance. When Salinger shows Holden restricting himself from going into the museum and giving his hunting hat to Phoebe, he demonstrates symbolism.

Holden’s red hat represents his individuality and his interactions with it and Phoebe show how he no longer wants it. Salinger writes, “Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat pocket and gave it to her” (180). This quote not only shows how Holden no longer wants to be different but how he really want to give his sister the chance to be unique and express herself. He has given up on trying to be himself, even by when he is alone. Salinger writes, “The reason I saw her, she had my crazy hunting hat on-you could see that hat about ten miles away” (205). Holden is saying that being unique makes him stand out, but unlike how

Can a hat really provide a person with emotion, or for that matter, can a hat ever protect a person from their own emotions? In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger the image of the main character’s red hunting hat comes up many times. Holden, the main character buys a hat while he is in New York with his school fencing team. Holden has just been kicked out of his school because for academic reasons, he decides to leave his school before the winter break starts, so he goes to New York. Steering clear from his family, except for his sister, he stays there for about three days on his own. During this time a lot happens to Holden, causing him to grow up. Holden’s hat is a metaphor for Holden’s growing up; in the beginning

Sporting a plaid, red deer hunting hat, he would consistently pull the bill of the hat around to the back due to he insisted he looked better. The flaps would always stay down to cover his ears and would constantly be questioned why he was wearing a deer hunting hat when he was not hunting deer. Holden Caulfield, main character of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, regularly dons a red deer hunting hat for the majority of the novel. The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel showing how the main character spends his days between moving out of his private school and returning home to his parents in New York in his hunting hat. Caulfield must manage the constant changing of schools, underage drinking, and not following the crowd,

Holden's red hunting hat that he occasionally wears throughout the book is also a symbol. It symbolizes his independence. He makes a point to mention his hat every time he wears it, trying to show his audience how independent he is.The fact that he often takes it off when around people, highlights his inner conflict between wanting to be isolated and wanting to feel like he belongs. Holden is all about wearing the hat in private, but he's embarrassed to wear it in public. This hinted at in the start of Chapter

When Holden had returned from speaking with his history teacher about flunking out of Pencey Prep High School, he immediately puts his hunting hat on: “I swung the old peak way around to the back- very corny, I’ll admit, but I like it way” (18). The hat acts as an alter ego for Holden, it makes him feel confident and unlike himself when he puts it on; for example after Mr. Spencer yelled at Holden for not trying harder in school, instead of being upset, he is able to come back to his dormitory and find

By the end of the novel, Holden learns to accept society for what it is and accept the fact that kids do not necessarily need his protection from society or any of its prejudices, judgements, or expectations. This does not mean that he cannot help them, as he can stay there and be waiting for them to at least reduce the pain undergone due to the aforementioned societal aspects whenever they need his help. After a single day and a deep, meaningful, and serious talk with Mr. Antolini, Holden adapts to fit this role ideally. When he is about to leave for Mr. Antolini’s house, Holden “[takes] [his] hunting hat out of [his] coat pocket and [gives] it to [Phoebe]. She likes those kind of crazy hats. She [does not] want to take it, but [he] [makes] her.” (Salinger, 198-199). Here, Holden gives the hat to Phoebe in hopes that it will protect her from whatever societal harshness or hardships she undergoes while he is at Mr. Antolini’s house. This hunting hat jointly symbolizes protection and isolation. It is a way of isolating oneself from all of the phony people because as Holden himself admits on multiple occasions, it is ugly and displeasing to the eye. This could potentially be a way by which he tries to deter himself from all of the phoniness in the world. One type of phonies are those who take everything at face value, and by wearing this hat, Holden deters at least them. That could even be the reason why he likes this hat so much: the fact that it makes him come into contact

Holden's red hunting hat represents of Holden's exclusivity and personality. Ackley describes it to Holden as a 'deer shooting hat' (Salinger, p.19). As the hat is a representation of Holden's personality, it is also tied into his exclusivity, as he seems to have the desire to be different from everyone that surrounds him. The presence of the hat represents the vital conflict in the novel: Holden’s need for seclusion versus his need for friendship. It is mainly true especially when he informs Ackley that that the hat is “a people shooting hat' (Salinger, p.19) implying that he disparages or shoots people down. In addition, he refers to how he feels hostile towards humans. Furthermore, Holden habitually wears the red hat backwards which symbolizes the fact that the catcher in baseball wears his hat backwards. The red color of his hat represents Holden’s instability and anger. Besides, red is also Allie’s and Phoebe’s hair, hence its appearance can be related to Holden’s way of connecting with them as they are depicted as innocent characters.

Holden doesn’t need the hat anymore a source of his protection and identity because he thinks that Phoebe needs the hat more than him. Holden wants phoebe to be protected from the dangers of growing up and losing innocence, so he tells her to keep it. Salinger writes, “Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat pocket and gave it to her. She likes those kinds of crazy hats.” (97) Holden knows that alienation is what represents what little stability there is in his life and that he never addresses his emotions head on, but he chooses to hide from them. Holden doesn’t need to protect himself anymore because he knows who he is and that the red hunting hat will not change him as a person. Holden also realizes that while he wants to have connections, alienation is what separates the two and causes problems. He starts to lose the fear of what other people think of him due to the growing fear that phoebe will get hurt one day. He gives the hat to phoebe as a means of protection for when she grows up and faces challenges in life instead of using the hat as a means of a source of protection for

Holden’s hat portrays himself. It’s unusual, and Holden is almost ashamed of it. Whenever he’s in public he takes it off, in fear of being seen as different. Holden also uses the hat as a protective layer; when he wears it, he feels like he is unrecognizable and strong. Holden also uses this hat as a false portrayal of his seperation from the group. Holdens true physical differences are his gray hair, or his tall build. Instead of being prideful of his actual idiosyncrasies, he pretends to be different through the hat. When this occurs, it makes Holden what he hates the most- hypocritical. With the hat, Holden is a “phony” for feigning individuality while masking his own disparate traits.

Holden likes things that remain constant, things that don’t change. Holden’s interactions are sabotaged by his resentment of “phoniness” and his prominent and overly judgemental side. He only shows his caring side, when he is comfortable. This can also connect with his red hunting hat which could possibly symbolize protection. In the book, Holden finds a bad word written on the walls of his younger sister’s school.

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger is shown to be using numerous recurring items to symbolize the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Some of these could be the ducks from Central Park and Phoebe, but one of the more significant items that is shown since the beginning to the end of the book, is the red hunting hat. Holden is a very eccentric character, with his personality not quite corresponding to his age. Throughout the book, Holden is seen to be unconfident and easily irritated by the simplest of things. But this state of mind suddenly changes to the opposite whenever Holden wears and values his red hunting hat. Salinger uses the red hunting hat to develop Holden’s character as it demonstrates his ability to gain confidence and not be easily aggravated.