The ideas expressed in Thomas C. Foster’s novel How to Read Literature like a Professor are validated in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye. Foster’s points in chapters “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”, “Is That a Symbol?”, and “Flights of Fancy” are shown throughout Salinger’s novel and provide insight into who Holden is and what he is going through.
The chapter entitled “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow” explains the significance behind the use of snow or rain in literature. Foster states that “Wallace Stevens uses snow to indicate inhuman, abstract thought, particularly thought concerned with nothingness” (Foster 75). Salinger also uses snow to express Holden’s mental state, the bitter cold and longer periods of darkness in winter emphasize his depression. Alternatively, the clean, white snow symbolizes innocence and purity which Holden strives for for the entirety of the novel. EXAMPLES
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Holden’s red “people hunting hat” is one of the more prevalent symbols in The Catcher in the Rye. It symbolizes his confidence and individuality. In the beginning of the novel, he was intruded upon by Ackley who explained to Holden that that hat he was wearing was a deer shooting hat. To which, Holden replied, “‘This is a people shooting hat...I shoot people in this hat’” (Salinger 30). This outrageous statement shows his desire to be unique, to everyone else it’s a hunting hat, but to him it is far more. Another symbol in The Catcher in the Rye is the Museum of Natural History and its constant nature. Holden said “the best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (Salinger 157). Holden values consistency and prefers things the way they were when he was little. He is being forced to grow up too fast and longs for his
Salinger uses specific motifs and symbols to illustrate Holden’s naive and unrealistic view of the world. A great example of this is when he believes he can be the catcher in the rye. By doing so he imagines he is able to maintain all the innocence within society. Holden
Due to J.D Salinger’s personal and relatable narrative treatment, Catcher in the Rye continues to engage audiences, even 64 years after it was first published. The way the book deals with alienation and disillusionment in regards to Holden’s past trauma - through the closeness of first person narration and conversational writing among other techniques - creates a personal connection to Holden’s character and helps adolescents relate his troubles to their own.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
American Literature is widely known for possessing themes of disillusionment. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway dominate this category of literature. However, the most influential piece of American Literature is arguably J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. What makes this piece of art stand so far out from any other work of literature is the attributes that make this novel so relatable. The source of this raw, real emotion that completely captivates the reader is Salinger himself. The Catcher in the Rye ‘s main character Holden Caulfield is undeniably Salinger. This work of fiction nearly resembles an autobiography. J.D. Salinger uses his novel to express his disillusionment through motifs, pathos, and symbols.
The distance that Holden makes sure to keep in place isolates him from others and manifests in curious actions and mannerisms. One example could be the red hunting hat, which advertises his uniqueness and also gives him a sense of protection. Holden explains to Ackley that his red hat is not a “deer shooting hat” but a “people shooting hat”. Out of all the mentions of the red hat in the novel, this is the most enlightening. Holden uses the hat as a sign of individuality and independence; this hat serves as another way Holden is able to isolate himself from the rest of the world. The red hat serves as symbol for Holden’s desperate desire for independence and his distaste for conformity. Although Holden does not kill anyone in the novel, he does “shoot people” in his own cynical way by spending all of his time and energy belittling the people around
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye tells an unforgettable story of teenage angst by highlighting the life of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who commences a journey of self-discovery after being expelled from his private boarding school. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles with issues such as self-identity, loss, and a wavering sense of belonging. Holden’s red hunting hat is consistently used throughout the story as a symbol of his independence and his attachment to his childhood. From the very moment he receives it, Holden’s red hunting hat becomes a symbol of his own alienation. After traveling to New York for a fencing match and losing the team’s equipment on the subway, Holden is outcast by his teammates, who are angry that he hindered their ability to compete in the match.
“I was crying and all, I don’t know why, but I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (53), Holden says. As humans, we have a hard time belonging in society. This is the same case for Holden Caulfield, the main character from the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the rye, a novel by J.D Salinger, is about Holden, a lost boy in desperate need of help. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded by the world around him. He continually attempts to try and belong in a world in which he is isolating from. In this novel, Salinger uses symbols such as the red hunting hat, the ducks and Allie’s glove to support the theme, belonging and isolation.
He sees people in many different ways. The people that the average people would see as cool, he calls phonies but the people who one would normally ignore, he relates to. Holden cannot stand most people and sees the fakeness in people. This is one of the reasons he wants to be different. He uses the hat as a way as sticking out from the phonies and the average person. He has a need to be different. He points out his hunting hat to many different people, one of them being his roommate, Stradlater. He tells the audience, “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” and “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back—very corny, I'll admit, but I liked it that way. I looked good in it that way”(Salinger 17). He knows that the hat was weird but he still wanted to wear
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
While in New York with the fencing team, Holden loses all of their equipment, then buys a red hunting hat. Holden describes the hat as a, “red hunting hat, with one of those very, very, very long peaks… The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around back - very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way.”(Salinger, 24) The hat makes him stand out and seem like a unique person.
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to highlight the stages of development that occur throughout Holden’s life. Salinger’s use of Holden’s red hunting hat helps the reader better understand him, both physically and mentally, at different periods of his adolescence. His mental state of mind helps dictate his actions, which allow Holden to further develop; making them a crucial aspect of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D.
Looking at the aforementioned, Holden wears the red hunting hat to drive people the other way. He wants to have people in his life, but he can’t seem to figure out how since he doesn’t fit in. The hat is Holden’s way of showing individuality; however, he uses this and his alienation to make himself seem like he is above everyone else (Themes, Motifs, & Symbols). Since the hat also represents his desire for friends and loneliness, Holden begins to get close with people, but then the protection of the hat makes him push people away. (Themes, Motifs, &
The novel has a very deep meaningful moral and many different symbols throughout the book. One symbol that was used often in the book was Holden's red hunting hat. His red hunting hat was a symbol of security for him because whenever he put on the red hunting hat he felt safe. “ I was sort of crying. I don't know why. I put on my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back,the way I liked it…” (Salinger 59). Another symbol in the novel is the profanity Holden sees everywhere. The profanity is a symbol of children losing their innocence when they are so young, this bothers Holden because he wants to stop the children from losing their innocence by becoming “the Catcher in the Rye”. The moral of the story is that everyone needs to be more like Holden's sister Phoebe who instead of telling him that he is going to face a lot of consequences if he runs away packs her bags to go with him because she knows that he is struggling and hurting in the
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
A big trait in Holden’s character is the stubbornness. Holden is not willing to accept his problems in addition to let others help him. It is equally important to realize that Holden’s stubbornness is fatal to changing, otherwise growing up. One of the first symbols introduced is Holden’s red hunting hat. “This is a people shooting hat. I shoot people in this hat. (3.31)” gives signs that this hat is a way to alienate himself from the world. When Holden articulates it is for shooting people; shooting really means calling them phonies to only stubbornly protect himself from the outer world. Proceeding to Holden’s visit to Phoebe’s school, the f**k you signs on the wall are a way of representing the negative influences on kids. Holden’s stubbornness is shown when he attempts to erase them off the wall, although states “you couldn’t rub out even half the ‘F**k You’ signs in the world.(25.18)” The symbol’s meaning towards the story is understood that it’d be pointless to erase even all of the negative influences in the world because they’d just re-appear, except the protagonist cannot accept the reality of the situation. Jumping right to the end of the novel, when Phoebe ...