He is also showing admiration to his brother Allie, when he says “Catcher in the Rye” he is referring to Allies catcher's mitt that Holden kept when he
Holden says, “So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie's baseball mitt. It was a very descriptive subject. It was. My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder's mitt. He was left-handed.
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.
He never got mad at anybody. People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie never did, and he had very red hair” (50). Associated with his deceased brother Allie, whose red hair is reminiscent of the hat's color, the hat becomes a tangible link to Holden's past and a source of bittersweet
Aside from being a liar, Holden is depressed. After Allie, his younger brother passed away, Holden hasn’t been too healthy himself. There is this baseball glove that was Allies, and it is a comfort to him. Along with that, another thing that Holden finds comfort in is a hat. This hate in particular is a red hunting hat.
“She was the first one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to with all the poems written on it. ”(42) is another quote that Salinger uses to demonstrate Allie’s glove as being Holden’s feelings. Salinger makes it so that Holden only shows the mitt to people he is opening up to. His brother’s baseball mitt is a representation of his relationship(s) with other people. Salinger also demonstrates Holden’s feelings as his brother’s glove when Holden says “He made Allie go get his baseball mitt and then he asked him who was the best war poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson.
After talking about his childhood memories with his brother he states, ¨He is dead now. He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946. You´d have like him.¨ Then after talking about Allie’s old baseball mitt he said, ¨I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it¨(43-44). Allie’s death is used to show the unexpected change that Holden had experienced during his life. Allie was only eleven when he died, and Holden was thirteen.
Throughout my life I have collected many sentimental objects and symbols that represent achievements, memories, friendships, and my childhood. I constantly look back at those items, as they lay in my room, in order to relive the happiness it reminds me of. I plan to carry these articles with me as long as I live, because they each portray different stories that I want to remember forever. Just like how Holden holds close to Allie’s baseball mitt, I hold close to many items as well. Among the many artifacts that I possess and are on display in my room, some of my favorites include: a starfish, photos to document past memories, a scrapbook, and a tennis medal.
He feels very protective of his little sister Phoebe because she reminds Holden of Allie since they are both younger than Holden and have red hair. For example, when visiting Phoebe’s school, Holden becomes infuriated by the profanity written on the wall and is concerned that other kids, including Phoebe, may see the writing (Salinger 221). Not only does Holden want to prevent other kids from growing up, he wants to keep his own innocence so he does not forget about Allie. Holden notes that “the best thing [about museums] was that everything always stayed right where it was… The only thing that would be different
He's speaking to the narrator, at the beginning of the novel. This quote is significant because, as he wrote Stradlater's composition, he recollects upon how much he cared for his younger brother, and how affected he became. Because Allie was so brilliant, from being smart, to having "poems written all over the fingers and the pocket" of the glove, Holden portrays Allie as an extremely talented person, one that should not have died. Also, the fact that it is written "in green ink" shows how pure and innocent Allie was, contrasting to how corrupted Holden would have already been at that time, with green signifying the purity and cleanness of nature. This provides a source of his anger and rashness, as he may be affected by his brother's death.
In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to
At the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, the audience is able to see the reoccurring object the red hunting hat that Holden got in New York. J. D. Salinger gives the audience a clear understanding from the beginning of the novel that Holden despises the expectations of society and that he misses his deceased brother deeply with the symbolism of the red hunting hat. The color of the hunting hat is bright red, and Holden mentions many times throughout the story that his younger brother Allie, whom had died of leukemia, had bright red hair. Through Holden wearing this bright red hat, it is as if he is trying to mimic his deceased brother Allie, much like a child mimics their parents because they want to be like them. Therefore, the hat can
In this quote he tells that his brother died. This shows his brother died when he was young. Furthermore he dies as an innocent child who was not exposed to the adult world or the “phoniness.” Allie's death was tragic to Holden but maybe, in some ways Holden wanted the death himself, he wanted to preserve his innocence. Another point that shows Allie's mitt represents innocence is when Holden says Allie used to read poems on his glove while playing baseball which he wrote before the game so he wouldn’t be bored.
Holden tries to prevent the inevitable, but one must move on with their life, and that is, contributed to the loss of innocence. His hat keeps him safe from the societal horrors that steal one's innocence. So when he has finally comes to grips with the fact that he must become older, and make grown up decisions, he gives his hat to Phoebe when, she takes it out of his pocket and offers it to him, since it was raining, but he says “You can wear it awhile” (Salinger 233), he does this because he wants to protect her now and stop running away from his
He sees himself as the useless member of the family, and states that he’s “the only dumb one in the family” (67). The most heartbreaking cause of Holden’s loneliness is the death of his young brother, Allie, to leukemia. The brothers’ connection is shown through the symbol of Allie’s red hair, which Holden could have a “hunch” for even if Allie was sitting “a hundred and fifty yards” away (38). The cut of a bond this deep devastates Holden. Unfortunately, because of his inactive parents, he deals with it through anger and isolation that is symbolized by the red hunting hat he wears.
