What Does The Red Hunting Hat Symbolize In Catcher In The Rye

Holden Caulfield, in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D., Salinger struggles against the fact of growing up into the adult world including their responsibilities and surrendering the innocence of a child by being a teenager in between these two worlds. In the novel, Holden tells the reader about his life story about how he flunked school, finds refuge around New York City for a few days, only to return back home and have a mental breakdown. Holden tries to cope with the anxiety of his confusion by communicating his feelings through the Red Hunting Hat he bought early on. Holden's Red Hunting Hat illustrates the importance of individual personality in a teenager and at the same time symbolizing the attachment to adolescence and protection from adulthood

While walking in New York, Holden, "...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" (17). Following the pratfall with leaving all the foil for fencing on the subway, Holden buys the hat to yield some comfort for himself. The style Holden wears the peak of the hat all the way to the back looks bizarre, but Holden likes it that way since it makes him extraordinary to the rest of the so-called "phonies". Holden dislikes "phonies" so much because they contradict themselves through the way they act from showing what people want to see on the outside while not actually meaning it on the inside. Unusual as it looks though, Holden only puts on the hat around few people or when they will not question him. As Holden walks away from the park, he, "I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked and put it on. I knew I wouldn't meet anybody that knew me, and it was pretty damp out" (122). Under normal circumstances, Holden would never put on his hat like that, but in the current situation where nobody recognizes him, he pulls off the stunt. Holden comprehends the Red Hunting Hat as an odd looking hat for someone to wear especially in a city and will not wear it around familiar people showing how important he thinks of his outward

When Ackley gets inside Holden's room, Holden decides to horse around by, "...I pulled the peak of my hunting hat around to the front, then pulled it way down over my eyes. That way, I couldn't see a goddam thing" (21). Holden pretends to be a blind kid trying to find his mother to annoy Ackley who invaded his personal space. Holden gets a "bang" from using the hat in a childish manner similar to how kids might enjoy acting likewise. Holden also goes to the extent of imitating movies while wearing his Red Hunting Hat through tap-dancing. After following Stradlater to the bathroom, Holden grew bored so, "...I backed up a few feet and started doing this tap dance, just for the hell of it. I was just amusing myself" (29). Holden gets a "bang" again from this just like when he was pretending to be blind. Holden's tap dance is amusing enough to make Stradlater laugh portraying how goofy and childlike Holden looks. When wearing his Red Hunting Hat, Holden from time to time puts on an act showing the attachment to childhood he