What Does Holden's Red Hat Symbolize

1) Page 16: Holden explains that his hat represents his individuality. Even though his hat looks “very corny” turned around, he likes that it looks different from the way anyone else would wear

After Holden left the fencing equipment on one of the subway trains Holden decides to buy the hat. At this time Holden is feeling vulnerable and the hat is a rock to remind him of who he is. Later in the story after Stradlater punches him, Holden puts the hat on, because it gives him a sense of security and protection. When Holden revisits past events he also feels vulnerable. When he is writing Stradlater’s composition he starts to think of Allie and all the great times they had. Before he starts writing he reaches for the hat and begins to write about the baseball

In this quote, Holden describes a moment when a girl did something that sparked an affectionate nerve in Holden. She reached into his coat pocket without asking him and then proceeded to'steal' the hat and put it on his head. This action had a big impact on Holden, almost feeling as if it emotionally hurt him. Despite feeling shocked by her actions, he still offered the hat to her, saying she could wear it for the meantime. This simple action

While Holden was in New York for a fencing competition, he purchased a red hunting hat and this hat has come up numerous times during important parts of the story. For example, when Holden was writing about Allie’s baseball mitt and after he left Pencey. Holden wears his hat as a way to show who he really is, even though he is not comfortable wearing it in public , “I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I liked it,”(Salinger 68). Although Holden feels embarrassed when he wears his hat out in public it is a way for him to feel more confident in his own skin rather than being depressed all the time. The red hunting hat is a symbol shown again and again about who Holden really is as a person. It shows that he likes and enjoys doing unusual things, but at the same time is cautious about where he wears his favorite

Holden takes Phoebe to the carousel, and after she rides it, she comes back to him. It’s beginning to rain when Phoebe gives Holden his hunting hat. “Then what she did– it damn near killed me– she reached in my coat pocket and took out my red hunting hat and put it on my head... My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way; but I got soaked anyway. I didn't care, though... I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don't know why.” (212-213) Before this point in the book, Holden is only doing things that he thinks will make Phoebe happy. When Holden gives Phoebe the hunting hat, it’s because he knows she “likes those kind of crazy hats” (180) but also because she is important to him. To Holden, the hunting hat is a form of protection (“my hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection” [213]) so when he gives her the hat he is protecting her. When Phoebe puts the hat on him, Holden feels genuinely happy for one of the first times in the book. Holden realizes that Phoebe wants to protect him and that she loves him for who he is, and it makes him feel like a better person than he has been. He says, “I felt so damn happy... I don’t know why,” which shows that Holden isn’t accustomed to feeling this way. The only time Holden really feels happy is when he is wearing his hunting hat or he is with

It is obvious that Holden uses the hat as a mark of individuality and independence. Holden’s new hunting hat is very important to him. Part of him seems to want to display his rebelliousness, but another part of him wants to fit in (or at least hide his mental instability. Although he mentions the freezing temperature, Holden does not wear the hat near the football game or at Spencer’s house; he waits for the privacy of his own room to put it on. His desire for independence is connected to his feeling of alienation, to the bitterness he has for the rest of the world.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden, the main character, buys a red hunting hat in New York City the morning he left his team’s fencing equipment on the subway. Holden “…swung the old peak way around to the back- very corny” (Salinger 18). Holden is embarrassed to wear his hat in public places, but not when he is in private. Holden bought the hat to be unique and to show his individuality. Walking back to the hotel, Holden put his red hunting hat on. He didn’t care “…how [he] looked. [He] even put the earlaps down” (Salinger 88). Holden’s hat becomes an important symbol because it shows how Holden wants to see himself. He can be as tough and as unique as he wants when he is wearing his hat. While Phoebe is riding the

First, because Holden’s hat is so unique looking, he uses it as a way to set himself apart from all the fake people in the world. Holden looks down upon people who conform to society’s expectations, so he wears his silly looking hat to make himself feel special. Second, Holden’s hat represents his desire to emulate his late brother Allie. Holden idolizes Allie because “he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest” (43). Because Allie is dead, he would not be able to disappoint Holden or show himself to be a phony. Holden’s hat is childish which connects to Allie, because Allie dies of leukemia when he was young. The hat also physically represents Allie because Allie was a red-head and the hunting hat is read. Holden’s red hunting hat is used by Salinger to represent Holden’s desire to be different and his desire to connect with his. late brother,

J.D Salinger’s use of the red hunting hat throughout The Catcher in the Rye symbolizes Holden’s desire to be unique from the rest of society. Holden tends to put on his red hunting hat on when he is feeling vulnerable. The red hunting hat makes him feel as if he has the power and ability to be unique. Holden first buys the red hunting hat a very vulnerable point in his life. He had just “noticed [he’d] lost all the goddam foils,” (Salinger 17).

There is also a sense of self-consciousness that surrounds the hat as well. Holden never fails to mention when he is going to wear the hat and even removes the hat when he is going to be around people he knows, because "it was corny" but he "liked it that way." His self-consciousness of his hat therefore introduces a new component to the theme: Holden's want for isolation versus his desire for companionship.

The last paragraph in chapter 7 shows Holden committing all of these childhood actions like turning your hat backwards, and screaming at the top of your lungs while others are resting peacefully. Luckily he doesn't want to hold on to it anymore because he realizes he must move on and accept that he can't reminisce about his childhood forever, so he gives his hat to Phoebe the next day. Phoebe should enjoy the few memories of childhood left while they still last and Holden recognizes that he shouldn't take away his sister's childhood, but add to it and create memories.

Holden’s hat portrays himself. It’s unusual, and Holden is almost ashamed of it. Whenever he’s in public he takes it off, in fear of being seen as different. Holden also uses the hat as a protective layer; when he wears it, he feels like he is unrecognizable and strong. Holden also uses this hat as a false portrayal of his seperation from the group. Holdens true physical differences are his gray hair, or his tall build. Instead of being prideful of his actual idiosyncrasies, he pretends to be different through the hat. When this occurs, it makes Holden what he hates the most- hypocritical. With the hat, Holden is a “phony” for feigning individuality while masking his own disparate traits.

Holden's hunting hat also shows symbolism of different moods and feelings he may be experiencing. First, the fact that it was a "hunting hat" symbolizes that he is searching for himself. And second, there is a pattern as to the way he wears he hat. When he is in a lost and depressed mood he would "turn peak around to the back" (Salinger 45), when he was in a good mood he would "pull the peak…around to the front" (Salinger 34). There is no specific sequence in these changes, his hat turns with his mood. It is as if the hat is directing him and comforting him in his quest to find himself.

Holden’s red hat represents his individuality and his interactions with it and Phoebe show how he no longer wants it. Salinger writes, “Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat pocket and gave it to her” (180). This quote not only shows how Holden no longer wants to be different but how he really want to give his sister the chance to be unique and express herself. He has given up on trying to be himself, even by when he is alone. Salinger writes, “The reason I saw her, she had my crazy hunting hat on-you could see that hat about ten miles away” (205). Holden is saying that being unique makes him stand out, but unlike how

One of the literary devices in this novel is symbolism. Holden’s red hunting hat is the symbolic feature that alienates him from society. Ackley tells Holden “Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake… That’s a deer shooting hat” (Salinger 30), meaning Holden’s hat is only worn while hunting. Holden does not seem to care much for Ackley’s opinion and he wears it anyways. This shows Holden’s individuality and his uncommon desire compared