Catcher In The Rye Color Red Quotes

False Protection In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses the color red as a motif throughout the journey of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. Holden has flunked out of every high school he has attended, and following the news that he has been expelled from his current school, Pencey, he goes to New York City and lives recklessly in an attempt to have one last hurrah before the school alerts his parents. During his journey, he grapples with where his life is going and indulges in alcohol and prostitutes to divert his attention from his failures. At times Holden finds himself depressed at what his life has become, and he uses red objects like a hunting hat he bought to protect him from facing the reality of what he is going

One example of this is found in Holden’s beloved brother Allie whom he tragically lost to cancer when Holden was 13 years old and Allie was 11 years old. Allie was both a model child and student, as he was the smartest in the family, kind, and respectful. Allie’s most striking physical feature was his red hair, which was so bright that Holden could see it from about “a hundred and fifty yards” (50) away. Holden obviously could not see Allie in detail from that distance, which means that what Holden saw was nothing but a red dot. In that red dot he recognized Allie’s kindness, intelligence and child-like spirit, which means that the innocence Allie possessed was channeled and exuded through the color red in his hair. In turn, Allie’s hair ingrained the color red as a representation of innocence in Holden’s mind because of the significant role Allie played in Holden’s life. This deep association of red with innocence is what leads to Holden’s original relationship with red. He views red as a means to protect his innocence, which he feared he was losing. This is seen one night when Holden is walking back from Ernie’s Club to his hotel in the freezing cold, and he decides to put on his red hunting hat. Holden “took (the red hunting hat) out of (his) pocket and put it on — (he) didn’t give a damn how (he) looked” (115), and soon became less cold. At this moment, Holden finds himself in a very vulnerable position because he is walking alone at night in New York City and in the blistering cold. This can be interpreted as the cruelty and reality of the real world, in other words: cold. When Holden has his red hunting hat on, he believes that he will remain innocent, even in environments that expose him to the cold and harsh nature of the real world. This is Holden’s first relationship to the color red, but as the novel progresses, Holden finds that this mode of protection may not always