Symbolism of the Red Hunting Hat In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden’s red hunting hat becomes an increasingly important motif, evident throughout the novel. After Holden purchased the hat in New York, he became increasingly attached to the hat and it amounted to more meaning as Holden’s story progressed. The red hunting hat is extremely significant in The Catcher in the Rye because it symbolizes Holden’s desire for individuality, his yearning to be protected from the outside world, and his intimate connection to his siblings. For Holden, the red hunting hat serves as a way to avoid the dangers and irritations of the world around him. This motif is revealed early in the novel when Ackley approaches Holden in his bedroom. After entering Holden’s dorm room at Pencey …show more content…
Acting callowly, Holden pretended that he couldn’t see Ackley. However, a few moments later, he calmed down and returned his hat to its proper position. In this situation, the hat symbolizes Holden’s return to maturity, as well as his desire for emotional protection by separating himself from Ackley with the red hat. In addition to emotional security, the hat symbolizes physical protection for Holden. After being at Ernie’s bar, Holden entered the frigid weather and expected his hat to protect him completely from the outside world. “...it was freezing cold and I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on—I didn’t give a damn how I looked. I even put the earlaps down,” (Salinger 115). Later in the story, though he had his hunting hat on, Holden’s hair became partially full of “little chunks of ice,” (Salinger 200). While his hat did not provide him full protection from the weather, Holden became grateful for the small protection it offered from the ice and
While in New York with the fencing team, Holden loses all of their equipment, then buys a red hunting hat. Holden describes the hat as a, “red hunting hat, with one of those very, very, very long peaks… The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around back - very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way.”(Salinger, 24) The hat makes him stand out and seem like a unique person.
Holden’s red Hunting hat was very crucial to him as he bought it in New York on the Saturday morning that he visited. The hat is the center of attention for Holden as many people such as Ackley ask about the hat. Holden only puts the hat on at crucial moments in his life such as writing the composition for Stradlater, leaving Pencey Prep, and acting confident in front of the mirror. “It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. I saw it in the window of the sports store when I got it out of the subway...it only cost me a buck” (17). In the novel, Holden also wears the hat when he leaves Pencey Prep as he says “Sleep tight, ya morons”. In the novel, it can be noted that Holden doesn’t like to wear the hat outside as
The red hunting hat was exchanged between Holden and Phoebe as a sign of reassurance that Holden will watch over and protect her. Another example is, Holden’s goal in life to become a catcher in the rye in order to protect his sister from falling off “the cliff,” which is a representation of the loss of innocence which can occur as a result of trauma. Trauma effects everyone at some point in their life, and understand the importance of it, and how to cope with the realities of life will only
Indeed, just the naming of his red hunting cap as a “people-shooting hat” is suspicious enough; but Holden merely wants to stand out in a crowd and be different from all the phonies around him, and the unique hat is enough to do so, despite it making him look foolish. He is going “people-shooting” in the sense that he is putting down partisans of the supposedly fabricated adult world, the same people who put Holden down for his visible immaturity. The cap gives Holden the confidence he needs to feel like his own independent person – an adult – without actually being one. This is yet another one of Holden’s desperate attempts to cling onto whatever shred of youth and innocence he has left and avoid growing
Holden’s hat allows him to show and hide his emotions. Holden uses his hunting hat to speak freely and emotionally about his brother in an essay for Stradlater. After Holden gets back from being out with Brossard and Ackley he sits down to write a composition about Allie. Before he does this, he “put on [his] pajamas and bathrobe and [his] old hunting hat,” (37). Holden puts on his hunting hat so that he can write about his brother who died three years before this story takes place. Holden would not normally wear his hat to bed, so we can assume that he doesn’t wear it as a part of his pajamas. Putting it on before he writes an essay about his brother suggests that he put it on for that reason. At another time Holden uses h...
The distance that Holden makes sure to keep in place isolates him from others and manifests in curious actions and mannerisms. One example could be the red hunting hat, which advertises his uniqueness and also gives him a sense of protection. Holden explains to Ackley that his red hat is not a “deer shooting hat” but a “people shooting hat”. Out of all the mentions of the red hat in the novel, this is the most enlightening. Holden uses the hat as a sign of individuality and independence; this hat serves as another way Holden is able to isolate himself from the rest of the world. The red hat serves as symbol for Holden’s desperate desire for independence and his distaste for conformity. Although Holden does not kill anyone in the novel, he does “shoot people” in his own cynical way by spending all of his time and energy belittling the people around
Some people have special tokens in their lives, which they hold dear to their hearts. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger shows Holden Caufield’s special object to be his red hunting hat, which he bought at a local store for a dollar. This hat holds symbolic meaning throughout the novel. Although it simply is a red hat, in The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger shows that it is so much more, for it acts as Holden’s security blanket, allows him to show his inner confidence, and his homesickness throughout the novel.
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye tells an unforgettable story of teenage angst by highlighting the life of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who commences a journey of self-discovery after being expelled from his private boarding school. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles with issues such as self-identity, loss, and a wavering sense of belonging. Holden’s red hunting hat is consistently used throughout the story as a symbol of his independence and his attachment to his childhood. From the very moment he receives it, Holden’s red hunting hat becomes a symbol of his own alienation. After traveling to New York for a fencing match and losing the team’s equipment on the subway, Holden is outcast by his teammates, who are angry that he hindered their ability to compete in the match.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger describes Holden as one who is struggling in growing up and making his own choices. He explains Holden’s journey into the transition from childhood and adolescence to adulthood. The author brings up the red hunting hat a variety of times while on his journey.
Holden's red hunting hat was used to camouflage himself from both his problems and actuality. As bother some Ackley disturbs Holden while reading, Holden uses his hat as a defense. "I pulled t...
One of the many symbols that Salinger uses in the novel The Catcher in the Rye, was Holden’s “Red Hunting Hat”. This red hunting hat helps Holden feel like
In the beginning of the novel, Holden says to Mr. Spencer he feels trapped on the “other side of life.” This clearly demonstrates how Holden doesn’t feel that he belongs in the world he lives in. Holden has his hunting hat as a source of protection. Holden buys a red hunting hat in New York for a dollar. The hat has a very long peak, and Holden wears it backwards with the peak aiming behind him. “…I swung the old peak way around to the back-very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way” (17), Holden explains. Holden puts his hat on when he’s under a lot of stress. The hunting hat not only symbolizes protection, but it also symbolizes Holden’s uniqueness and individuality. Holden doesn’t wear his hat because it’s fashionable, but only to keep his individuality and to feel safe. In the cab Holden put his hat on and says, “I’d put my red hunting hat when I was in the cab, just for the hell of it, but I took it off before I checked in” (61). This quote illustrates how Holden thinks it’s necessary to wear the hat in order to feel safe. But at the same time, Holde...
The symbolism throughout the novel illustrates Holden’s isolation from the adult world. In the beginning of the Chapter Three, Holden returns to his dorm room where he finds his pestering roommate, Ackley. After seeing Holden’s red hunting hat, which he purchased in New York, Ackley is fascinated by it and tells Holden that “Up home [he] wears a hat like that to shoot deer in,” (22) Holden then takes the red hunting hat off of Ackleys’ head and closes one eye as if he is trying to shoot it. “This is a people shooting hat,” he says (22). It is obvious from the start of the novel that Holden’s red hat symbolizes his mark of individuality and independence. In this scene, the audience sees how his desire for independence is connected to the feeling of alienation and the bitterness Holden feels for the people in society. Of course, Holden will not actually sh...
Holden’s red “people hunting hat” is one of the more prevalent symbols in The Catcher in the Rye. It symbolizes his confidence and individuality. In the beginning of the novel, he was intruded upon by Ackley who explained to Holden that that hat he was wearing was a deer shooting hat. To which, Holden replied, “‘This is a people shooting hat...I shoot people in this hat’” (Salinger 30). This outrageous statement shows his desire to be unique, to everyone else it’s a hunting hat, but to him it is far more. Another symbol in The Catcher in the Rye is the Museum of Natural History and its constant nature. Holden said “the best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (Salinger 157). Holden values consistency and prefers things the way they were when he was little. He is being forced to grow up too fast and longs for his
A human society is often described as a group of people involved in persistent personal relationships, or as a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory. People tend to believe that doing what everyone else does, is the only correct path for life. If someone dares to break the pattern, does what he wants, or wears different clothes from what everybody else wear, he would frequently be seen as a strange or weird person. This is not it, every little thing someone does that differs from what it is “normal”, is seen as bad or bizarre. Holden Caulfield, of “Catcher in the Rye” is a character who stands out from common people. Holden doesn’t believe that he needs to follow what everyone else does. Contrary to that, Holden does what he wants and acts how he likes. By acting like this, Holden is not considered as a normal teenager, but as a unique one. Caulfield has often trouble fitting in society. Holden won’t fit into society because he doesn’t want to be a part of it. Hints displaying Holden not wanting to be part of society are his constant failing at school, his powerful revulsion for “phony” qualities, and his distancing himself from people.