Holden Caulfield Character Analysis Essay

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

Holden’s red hunting hat is one of the main symbols in the book, The Catcher in the Rye. The hat represents individuality and uniqueness. It symbolizes the confidence, self esteem, and comfort in who someone is. Holden is only willing to express himself when he is alone, with no one around. He looks for approval. Holden does not want to be seen negatively in any way. The hat is a symbol that Holden uses to tell Phoebe that she should always stay the same. Also, to tell her that she should be confident in whom she is, but, as Holden knows, Confidence and self-esteem can be easily broken. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s red hunting hat to symbolize Holden’s uniqueness and a sense security and comfort.

Holden’s first action after the fight is to find his hunting hat. Holden expresses his need for the hat when he says, “I couldn’t find my goddam hunting hat anywhere” (Salinger 59). This one sentence shows how the hunting hat brings relief to Holden and how he feels lost without it. The hat is a comforting object for Holden having that on the way he likes it just like a catcher.

The red hunting hat mirrors Holden’s resistance to conformity displaying his inner conflict of loneliness or companionship. Holden’s hat protects him and he feels that it gives him uniqueness as he does not agree with many of society’s standards. Salinger strategically places the hunting hat into situations where Holden feels awkward and uncomfortable. During these situations, Holden “puts [his] red hunting hat on, and [turns] the peak around the back the way [he] likes it” (59). The hat gives Holden the comfort and stability he desires in his life, as well as confident as he thinks that he “[looks] good in it” (21). However, the hat also isolates Holden in a protective bubble, restricting him from taking risks that he is not comfortable with. Holden is trying to get out into the world, yet it seems like the hat is holding him back

The Red Hunting Hat - Holden’s red hat is a predominant symbol that reoccurs throughout the novel. The hat is very distinct and symbolizes his individuality

The red hat is mentioned multiple times throughout the novel, however, some occasions are much more significant than the others, for example, when Holden is wandering on the streets and pulls out his hat, saying “I knew I wouldn’t meet anybody that knew me…” (Salinger 122). This line symbolizes his desire for isolation. The hat helps him alienate himself by being different amongst others, giving him a tough, shady appearance. Holden is afraid of being judged, so by wearing this hat, he is able to take attention away from himself, which helps him avoid socialization and any

There is also a sense of self-consciousness that surrounds the hat as well. Holden never fails to mention when he is going to wear the hat and even removes the hat when he is going to be around people he knows, because "it was corny" but he "liked it that way." His self-consciousness of his hat therefore introduces a new component to the theme: Holden's want for isolation versus his desire for companionship.

     Holden is one confused kid trying to beat the Man in the 1950’s. He grew up ignored by his parents, drifting from school to school in search of a purer lifestyle. On page one Holden humbly describes his lousy growing up. “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you will probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like…but I don’t feel

Holden's hunting hat also shows symbolism of different moods and feelings he may be experiencing. First, the fact that it was a "hunting hat" symbolizes that he is searching for himself. And second, there is a pattern as to the way he wears he hat. When he is in a lost and depressed mood he would "turn peak around to the back" (Salinger 45), when he was in a good mood he would "pull the peak…around to the front" (Salinger 34). There is no specific sequence in these changes, his hat turns with his mood. It is as if the hat is directing him and comforting him in his quest to find himself.

In “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s red hunting hat a symbol. A symbol represents and idea, belief, image or object. This hat helps us see and witness Holden’s journey from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield’s red hunting hat is a symbol that represents the struggle between isolation and human contact, protection, link to innocence and growth as his story unfolds. Though it is a bumpy ride, its a ride we will all take.

One of the literary devices in this novel is symbolism. Holden’s red hunting hat is the symbolic feature that alienates him from society. Ackley tells Holden “Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake… That’s a deer shooting hat” (Salinger 30), meaning Holden’s hat is only worn while hunting. Holden does not seem to care much for Ackley’s opinion and he wears it anyways. This shows Holden’s individuality and his uncommon desire compared

The hat gives Holden comfort because he feels that his brother is with him. “Thus when Holden pulls his red hunting cap over his eyes and says histrionically, ‘I Mother darling, everything's getting so dark in here… Mother darling, give me your hand’” (Miller 34). That is that, the hat symbolizes Allie's hair and when Holden puts the hat on he says he is blinded, Holden feels Allie's present. He wants Allie to be present since Allie symbolizes a part of his life. When he needs someone he puts on his hunting hat because it is his sense of comfort. “I’d already taken off my hunting hat so as not to look suspicious or anything” (Sallinger 204). This proves that Holden wears the hat wherever he goes, but he takes it off because wearing it makes him unique and different. This ties to Allie, as when Holden wears the hat he feels different and Allie’s presence. This is what allows him to become different. “I pulled the peak of my hunting hat around to the front all of a sudden, for a change. I was getting sort of nervous, all of a sudden. I’m quite a nervous guy” (Sallinger 44). In the passage when Holden switches the peak of his hunting hat his emotions changed him. He starts to become nervous so putting the peak to the front symbolizes how the peak is where Allie is, putting it to the front gives Holden a sense of comfort that Allie is with him. The color red is used out throughout story, in this aspect red is used to symbolize Allie and his red hair. These symbol do not allow Holden to forget about the past when his brother was

In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, misunderstood protagonist Holden Caulfield retells his experiences as a teenager in New York City from within rehabilitation. A recurring motif within the novel is Holden’s red hunting cap. Holden’s red hunting hat is a symbol of protection and also symbolizes Holden’s independence and his desire to be different from everyone around him.

He bought the hat in New York, the same morning he had forgot all the fencing equipment on the subway and had been ridiculed by his team. Holden’s red hunting hat is a symbol of individuality and uniqueness. The hat is not in style nor decent, and therefore shows that Holden tries to be distinct from those around him. On the other hand, we see Holden not wearing the hat in public because his self-consciousness about it. On the way home from the museum, Holden states, “I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked, and put it on.

Holden’s red haunting haunt: This hat was a symbol recognized throughout the whole book. It symbolises him being unique and different from everyone else. He makes certain to mention the appearance of the hat, which is the colour red. We see that colour appear with Pheobe’s and Allie’s hair (his siblings) and so that might be the reason why the hat is very important to him since it might associate purity and innocence that he sees in his sister and brother.