Red Hunting Hat Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye

Catcher in the Rye uses excellent symbolism to convey ideas to the reader. One might compare it to Lord of the Flies, an average book that teachers force students to read once in their lives for its use of symbolism. Personally, I think Catcher in the Rye has better symbolism than Lord of the Flies. This is because the symbolic objects are easier to identify than the objects in Lord of the Flies. As a result, the reader spends more time focusing on what the object represents, rather than wondering whether the object is symbolic or not. Take the red hunting cap, for example. This can be identified as a symbol based solely on the fact that these hats are almost never worn, whether the story’s set in the 50’s, the 1700’s, or

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

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 “bought [this hat] in New York one morning…[it has] one of those very long peaks. [He] saw it in the window of [a] sports store” (21). In the Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses Holden’s red hunting hat as a symbol that illustrates the loneliness Holden feels as he alienates himself for his own protection.

The first symbols that Salinger uses to convey his message is the red hunting hat. The main character of the novel Holden Caulfield has an iconic and important red and black hunting hat which he frequently wears in different situations for more than just its obvious use as a hat. Holden is a very secluded character and is very critical of the individualistic society that he lives in, often criticizing others for not being themselves and being “phonies”. Even the way that Holden acquired the hat is special and symbolic of Holden and the theme of the novel. While giving the reader some background on his

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.

Holden’s Red Hat Holden Caulfield’s red hunting hat from The Catcher In The Rye is an important symbol in the story. The red hat is a symbol for different things. It sometimes represents safety and protection, and it makes him feel different from the rest of the world. Holden wants to protect his childhood in the beginning of the book, and he used the hat to protect himself from the people who would think he should be an adult by wearing a childish hat. He turns the hat back when he wants to reveal himself to the world, and wears it forward when he wants to be secluded.

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.

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

Holden wants to connect with Allie and does so by wearing on a red hunting hat which is a connection to his brother's red hair and keeps him dry in the storm. The cap allows him to feel ostracized from society and keeps Allie's memory retained. The cap is practical at times but is foolish-looking, with its extra-long bill and earflaps. It represents Holden's delightful attraction to unusual qualities, in objects as well as people, that others might miss. He realizes that the hat is unfashionable and occasionally is careful about who sees it, but he loves it anyway.

The red hunting hat was the initial symbol presented in the novel. The hat served as a form of individuality and a blocker for Holden. Since the hat was bizarre, it separated Holden from the “phony” crowd and preserve his innocence. Which also expatiate upon the fact that Holden takes the hat off when around the people he knows. (E.g. "I took my old hunting hat out … and put it on. I knew I wouldn't meet anybody that knew me"). One thing that is certain is the fact that Holden likes Allie, Phoebe, and this hat, and the fact that Allie and Phoebe’s hair is red similar to the hat.