Red Hunting Hat Analysis

Reaching the very end of the novel there are several events that lead up to the conclusion that Holden evolves as a dynamic character. The last few contributions include Holden sitting in the rain while Phoebe goes on the carousel, and finally when readers learn Holden must have entered some sort of a mental institution. While waiting for Phoebe he sits on a bench as it starts raining and thinks to himself, “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though.”(Salinger 213). One of the symbolic objects Holden keeps throughout the novel is the hat because it is comforting and gives him the feeling of protection. In this particular part of the novel it is clear that the hat can no longer protect him from entering the adult world. An English novelist Malcolm Bradbury expresses his opinion when writing, “Some seem to suggest a role for Holden in relation to childhood—he can be a catcher in the rye, the adult who is the protector of childish innocence. Over these episodes, Holden obviously develops and his attitudes change. He is hunting for his own

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

In these few sentences from the book The Catcher In the Rye Holden, the main character, talks about a red hunting hat he purchases. This hat represents Holden. Holden is very self conscious and goofy, the hat also helps him distance himself from other people. The author uses this technique because it shows another side of Holden, one that Holden would never show us himself. Throughout the book the hat is called corny and crazy, Holden also specifies how “I knew I wouldn’t meet anybody that knew me” and that “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way.” He makes a point of saying he wouldn’t meet anyone who knew him while he was wearing the hat and that it gave him protection (from others). These choices

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

Salinger uses the symbol of a red hunting hat to suggest and develop the themes of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, isolation and loneliness. Holden

But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game” (8). Holden does not understand Spencer’s metaphor. Holden believes that life can only be a game if people are given advantages. From his point of view, he is one of the unlucky ones, but in reality he is on the side with the hot-shots, because he is given many advantages that others are not. Salinger emphasizes Holden’s immaturity in a very subtle way by having Holden’s authority figures always calling him “boy”. Both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini call Holden “boy”. Of Spencer, Holden says, “I wished to hell he’d stop calling me ‘boy’ all the time” (12) and then later on, Antolini tells Holden, “You’re a very, very strange boy” (193). Both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini recognize and acknowledge Holden’s immature behaviour in calling him “boy”. This only stresses the fact that Holden cannot seem to realize he is acting more like a child than a teenager. Holden’s red hunting hat is a very important symbol in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden uses this hat as a way to hide from society. He says, “That hat I bought had earlaps in it, and I put them on–I didn’t give a damn how I looked. Nobody was around anyway” (53). Holden thinks that wearing his red hunting hat makes him an individual, but in reality, he will only wear it when no one is around to judge him. It is his immaturity that makes him believe that he is being unique,

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.

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,

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.

Another aspect of the respective texts is how the two protagonists display their individuality in order to separate themselves from everyone else, they desire to be unique. This perception of reality is articulated through the symbolism in The Catcher In The Rye and the wardrobe and lighting features utilised throughout the movie Igby Goes Down. Holden’s red hunting hat becomes inseparable from the image of Holden. This hat is perceived as a symbol of his uniqueness and personality. The hat is outlandish, and it shows that Holden desires to

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

Throughout the book, Catcher in the Rye, Holden talks about red many times. When red is brought up, it is usually when Holden is talking about people or items that catch his eye and appeal to him. The love, passion, and desire, that is talked about in The Catcher in the Rye is all Holden has for his siblings and his hunting hat that he brings around with him everywhere. The color red seems to have such a tight hold on Holden. It is in Salinger’s

Holden is in the “transitional stage”(Hans Bungert) that most teenagers would call as “the unhappy phase of life”(Hans Bungert). This further shows this limbo that he is in by giving more details of actual things that are happening to him. The hair also symbolizes the half mind that he is by the hair actually being on only one side of his head. Even his own body is expressing that he is not an adult yet but once again he tries to cover it up. He does this by putting on the red hunting hat. The red hunting hat is a symbol for his childhood. This hat gets him closer to childhood, as it is something that an adult wouldn’t wear. In fact, this hat is what makes Holden himself because as he hides his grey hair, he shows his infamous red hat. Everytime he is going to experience something new and adventurous he puts it on. When he puts the red hat on, he is a step closer to

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.