Holden's Red Hunting Hat Symbolism Essay

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As the novel begins, Holden lives at Pencey Preparatory School. Adolescence is notorious for conforming to standards in order to fit in, and boarding schools take this idea one step further with slogans that highlight their desire to make individuals fit their standards of success with slogans such as: “Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men” (Salinger ). Holden worries that he will not be able to meet these standards, or be accepted by others even if he reaches them, so he rejects this notion and instead pushes himself away from the mold. One way in which Holden shields himself from this is through his red hunting hat, which establishes it as a symbol of individuality. One way in which this is apparent is the way Holden talks …show more content…

This shows that Holden recognizes the unusual qualities of the hat, which make it stand out in a crowd. It is evident that Holden knows this, but despite that fact he still chooses to buy and wear the hat, it is clear that he wishes to be different from his peers, to be distinguishable in a crowd. Incidentally, Holden also is aware of the fact he wears the hat in an odd fashion, which further contributes to its uniqueness. Caulfield notes that “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back--very corny, I'll admit, but I liked it that way” (Salinger 21). This way of wearing the hat makes it, and in effect makes Holden, even more ‘different’ than his more conventionally dressed schoolmates. As well, when he shows his new hat to a couple of other residents of the Ossenburger wing of the Pencey Preparatory School dorms, it is clear that they think the hat is unfashionable. Upon proudly displaying the hat to Robert Ackley, the fellow student exclaims that “[Holden] got robbed” by buying the hat for one dollar (Salinger

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