Holden Caulfield’s red hunting cap is a symbol for his individuality. Caulfield only wears his hat when he “d[oes]n't give a damn how [he] look[s]” and when he knows “[he] wouldn’t meet anybody that kn[ows] [him]” (88, 122). Caulfield is insecure about himself--this is demonstrated by his inability to connect well with others--and his “corny” hat is one of his insecurities (18). Despite how insecure he is about his individuality--and subsequently his hat--he still keeps it close by. Most of time, the hat is in Caulfield’s “pocket” (53). When Phoebe “put [the hunting hat] on [his] head,” she is telling Caulfield that she accepts him as an individual--quirky hat and all (212).…
The cap, first mentioned in chapter 3 when Holden returns to his room after visiting his professor, embodies several of Holden's internal struggles. The color red, a color that does not easily go unnoticed, points to one of Holden's biggest fears, which is disappearing, as he grows older. This fear stems from the death of his younger brother Allie who died at the age of 11. The colour of the cap also reflects Holden’s younger brother and sister, Allie’s and Phoebe’s red hair. The color red also symbolizes Holden's strong feelings towards growing up. The appearance of the hat "with one of those very, very long peaks" is different than a common baseball cap (Salinger 17). Holden is drawn to this because part of him yearns to be different than his…
In chapters 9 through 12, I feel that a lot of my strengths of my journal are identifying symbols and their meanings for Holden. There are quite a few examples in these four chapters; for example, the ducks in the pond, Phoebe, and not calling Jane. However, I struggled with finding out why Holden keeps mentioning ducks and the pond; I have not yet found out by my own yet, but I think I’m getting close. From class discussion, it seems that some people think that Holden can be the duck. He can be seen as the duck in which ducks migrate when it’s winter. In this case, the duck is Holden and the winter is growing up. He is purposefully isolating himself, so that the winter/ adulthood doesn’t get to him. I will try to build more on the theme of isolation and symbols in the next few chapters.…
In the quote,Mr. Spencer lectures Holden about the importance of in life and how life is a game. The conversation demonstrates key aspects of Holden’s personality. From the quote, we can see Holden’s contempt for adults, which he shows by silently insulting Mr. Spencer. He also illustrates this personality by calling adults phonies. Mr. Spencer can also have the Mentor archetype because he tries to help Holden prepare himself for the…
In the context of this quote, Holden is referring to his red hunting hat. I have realized, as Holden consistently wears it and mentions it, it is clear that the red hunting hat symbolizes two things. First, Holden’s hat has a very distinct and unique style, qualities that most people wouldn’t be attracted to. I think this represents how Holden is different and likes things most people wouldn’t usually find interesting, for example all the blood (from when he got in a fight with Salinger). Second, Holden wears his hat the same way a catcher would. Towards the end of the novel, Holden tells his younger sister how he would like to save children if they would ever be falling off a cliff, he would be “the catcher in the rye.” Holden’s red hunting…
Holden has been through many difficult times in his life, especially after he lost his little brother Allie Caulfield who had pneumonia, but there are these main symbols that describes Holden as a person, his past and most importantly these symbols gives special meaning to his life. In the Catcher of the Rye, J.D Salinger highlights Holden’s journey of growing up by showing the three symbols and they are the lake, Carossel and the red hunting hat.…
His concern is symbolic of the fact that he cannot save all of the children in the world from danger. He sees that the phoniness around him and the faults within him are irremovable, and that he will just have to manage to live in the flawed society as it is. So the two sides of Holden are protection and violation of innocence. He tries to preserve innocence in others, and then to appreciate people’s independence in exploring the world. He says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (211). The quote means that people learn from experience. So he is saying maybe the only way people will learn is by facing the harsh truths of society. His realization is significant because Holden himself needs to face the harsh truths of…
Abraham Lincoln once said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Atticus Finch, in many ways, lives this quote everyday by understanding what has to be done today in order to avoid future consequences of today’s mistakes. Atticus is a kind-hearted, slow-tempered, wise man, who always knows the right thing to say.…
Holden on numerous occasions does actions that contradict what he tells the reader. One example of this is when Ackley says, “‘Listen,’ he said, ‘if you're gonna smoke in the room, how 'bout going down to the can and do it?” to which Holden responds, “I went right on smoking like a madman. All I did was sort of turn over on my side and watched him cut his damn toenails...You were always watching somebody cut their damn toenails or squeeze their pimples or something.” (Chapter 6) This quote is explicit evidence of Holden’s hypocrisy. In this excerpt, Holden talks about Ackley’s lack of boundaries and disgusting hygiene, while Holden smokes in Ackley’s absent roommate's bed. Holden accuses Ackley of invasion of personal space, as Holden invades Ackley’s personal space. The irony of this scene is comical. Holden’s hypocrisy creates more distrust between himself and the reader. Consequently, this devastates any chance Holden has of being a reliable…
"It is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important."…
Holden spends a lot of time in Central Park, wondering where the ducks go in the winter when the pond freezes over. Initially one might think that Holden is concerned for their wellbeing however on a deeper level, he is wondering about himself and where he will eventually go given that his pond of childhood has already frozen over. This also has references to Holden’s dream of being the Catcher in the Rye, where he can stand by the edge of the cliff and save the children from falling off, symbolically referring to protecting them from the dangers and hardships of adulthood. This further establishes the difference between Holden and society in…
Atticus Finch shows this by teaching Scout that sometimes, to realize what the actions of an individual is to think about what they could have been exposed to in life. This is how Atticus says to scout when she ask why the actions of people are different for everyone, this quote is Atticus explains it so that Scout can understand, “ until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee, pg. 39). Atticus may not show this physically but mainly through the way he speaks to others which is shown through the text, in which the reader would be able to paint a picture in there mind to see…
Holden knows that his plan is impossible, it is a comforting daydream born out of desperation; Holden resorts to fantasy because his desires ultimately contradict. Holden begins this passage gripped by paranoia that he will “never get to the other side of the street”(217) and that “nobody’d ever see [him] again”(217). Sweating through his shirt, he becomes so distressed that he begins to plead with Allie to save him, despite the fact that he considers the interaction “make believe”(218). Although Holden does not believe that Allie can really help him, he is driven to praying to him out of lack of better options. Holden is “still sweating”(218),meaning that his anxiety persists, as he decides to “go away”(218).…
It’s easy to call them annoying, rude, mean, or foolish, just because you don’t like them, but not many will believe you because you’re biased. For Holden, Ackley is one of those people who Holden “wasn’t too crazy about” (19). Ackley “could get on [Holden’s] nerves sometimes,” because “he always put [Holden’s picture] in the wrong place…on purpose,” “always [told] Holden [he] was a goddam kid,” and “didn’t care if [Holden had] packed something or not and had it way in the top of the closet” (22-23). Holden did not just make a claim, he also provided examples to illustrate what he said, based on his own experiences. Holden doesn’t just belittle Ackley because Holden doesn’t like him, Holden has actual proof of Ackley’s actions. He shows, not tells, much “like a novelist” to paint Ackley’s…
I feel as though the hunting hat became a symbol of innocence only after Phoebe had placed it on his head because in his eyes she is very innocent and practically represents innocence for him. Salinger subtly shows us this by saying “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway" (213). In the novel Holden is saying that his hat helps him deal with the rain and snow that falls while he is walking about the streets of New York City. However, I believe that Salinger intended this quote to have a much deeper meaning constituting his mind within a wrapped shield on all sides of his head. The hunting cap is his shield which protects his spiritual innocence the shield is needed to protect him from the actuality of becoming an adult. Holden realizes that children have a special way of life that distracts them from the truth of the world that we know…
