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The Red Hunting Hat Analysis

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In the Catcher of the Rye, J.D. Salinger used different symbols and themes to let readers into the mind of the sixteen year old protagonist, Holden Caulfield. He was expelled from school four times. Salinger uses symbolism to convey Holden's thoughts and views of the world. Throughout Holden's journey in “The Catcher of The Rye”, Salinger characterizes Holden's uniqueness and individuality of everyone around him by symbols and themes. Furthermore, the red hunting hat is one of the most recognized symbol throughout the novel. Holden bought the red hunting hat in a window of a sports store. Holden says, “I put on this hat that I’d bought in New York that morning. It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very,very long peaks” (Salinger 56). The hat shows Holden's desire to be different from everyone around him. “The red hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s uniqueness and individuality” (Sparknotes.com 2002). The red hat is properly known for hunting, but Holden wore it for other reasons.The hat separates Holden from the …show more content…

Holden has kept Allie’s baseball mitt over the years for his love he has.. Throughout the novel, Holden searches for the purity Allie had when he was alive. Salinger states Holden's pain, I slept in the garage that night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (87). For Holden, Allie was one of the few people in the world who wasn't phony.
In the Catcher of the Rye, another symbol is the museum of Natural History. The displays in the museum appeal to Holden because they never changed. The museum represents the world Holden wishes he could live in. A world as a “catcher of the rye” where everything stays the same. Holden wishes he could put parts of his life into the exhibits at the museum so they wouldn't change. He mentions that he is always troubled by the fact every time he visits, he has

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Salinger does a phenomenal job developing the red hunting hat into a symbol by emphasizing how important it was to Holden throughout the novel. When Holden is leaving the hotel, whilst walking out the door he grabs his coat from the hat check girl. He then proceeds to show her his hat. “I showed her my goddamn hunting hat and she liked it”(169).

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In this novel, there are many instances of symbolism, one of which is the red hunting hat that we always see Holden wearing. To the normal reader, the hat is just seen as an article of clothing that has no deeper meaning to it, but if you look further into the text, you will see that there is much more to it. The hat is a representation of Holden's individuality and uniqueness. With the hat, for one, being bright red but also a hunting hat that has ear flaps, it is not your regular hat and stands out to the naked eye. It fits Holden because he wants to be perceived as memorable, whether it be in the city of New York or at all the different schools he has attended.

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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

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