One of the main symbols in this book is the red/orange hunting hat that Holden takes with him almost everywhere. The hat is really a symbol of Holden’s independence. He uses a little item, such as a hat, to stand out from other people. In the winter too, it helps him because it has built in ear muffs that keep him warm as he is walking from place to place in the snow. He is very weird about that red hunting hat. He wears it to stand out from other people, but in the story, he makes sure to mention when he puts the hat on and when he takes the hat off. When he is around people he knows, he tends to keep the hat in his pocket. When he was visiting home, he took of the hat in the elevator because he did not want to look suspicious to the elevator attendant (Salinger 157). I think that Holden uses the hat to distance himself from other people. He feels good when he wears the hat. He does not care what other people around him think of the hat either. When he gets around people he knows and he is close to though, he tends to be very picky about the hat. When he went to visit Mr. Antolini, he kept his hat in the pocket of his coat. The hat really has no significance to the book, but it is the way that Holden stands out from his surroundings. When he described the hat as being red, I could already picture in my mind what the hat looked like. Red to me is a color that stands out the mos. I think the hat gave Holden more confidence when he wore it. I also think that when he put the hat away around people he knew showed he was kind of ashamed of it. I like at the end of the story how Phoebe took the hunting hat from Holden’s pocket and put it on his head (Salinger 213). I think that gave Holden a boost in confidence because he could wear the hat proudly around someone he was really close to, and they did not care. Holden even offered Phoebe his hat. Overall, the hat helped Holden stand out when he wanted to, and blend in when he felt the need.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye
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