Catcher in the Rye Essay

In Catcher in the Rye, Holden often mentions a red hunting hat, to which much meaning is attached. "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."(24) This motif represents Holden's insecurity, immaturity, and his tendency to relate more closely to children rather than peers his age. Mentioned several times throughout the novel, the red hunting hat, an otherwise insignificant article, ends up having great importance.

The red hunting hat often surfaces when Holden is feeling insecure about himself, or when he subtly comments on his appearance. After getting in a fight with Stradlater, Holden's face is badly bruised and cut. "I couldn't find my god damn hunting hat anywhere. Finally I found it...I put it on and I turned the old peak around to the back. I went over and took a look at my stupid face in the mirror."(45) In calling himself stupid, he is implying that he does not think very highly of himself, thus relating the red hunting hat to his own insecurity.

Holden often behaves childishly. Whether it's horsing around or simply acting inappropriately, Holden is always acting young for his age. Salinger frequently makes a point to mention that Holden pulls on his "old red hunting hat" right before he starts goofing off. For example, "I got bored sitting on that washbowl after a while, so I backed up a few feet and started doing this tap dance, just for the hell of it." This childish behavior is soon followed by "All of a sudden-for no good reason, really, except that I was sort of in the mood for horsing around-I felt like jumping off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson...I landed on him like a goddamn panther" (29). These actions are similar to those a young boy would do. Instead of simply conversating with his peers, or even joking around a little at times, Holden takes his escapades too far, often annoying those who he comes in contact with. It is possible Holden simply may not possess the ability and mindset to act appropriately.

The last, probably most obvious idea that the hat symbolizes is protection. In one scene, Holden is walking back to the hotel and he mentions putting the hat on. "You wouldn't even have known it had snowed at all. There was hardly any snow on the sidewalks. It was freezing cold, and I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on-I didn't give a damn how I looked. I even put the earlaps down" (88). The hat is protecting Holden from the cold weather, but more symbolically, it is protecting him from growing up. In one point in the novel, Holden mentions that he has "one side of (his) head...full of millions of gray hair."When he uses the hat to cover up those hairs, he is symbolically covering up his maturity. Eventually, Holden gives the hat to Pheobe. Perhaps his action is supposed