In J.D. In Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, flunks out of prep school and spends three days of freedom wandering in New York City. While in New York, Holden struggles with situations that define his future and current relationships. Holden’s distant parents, his mature younger sister, Phoebe, and his late younger brother, Allie, all cause Holden to make irrational decisions. Holden wastes his money excessively smoking and drinking, he spends a night with a prostitute which leads to him getting beaten up by a pimp and ultimately ruins his relationship with, Sally Hayes, based on a fake fantasy he created to try to escape his life. He struggles to adapt and understand society; this causes Holden to …show more content…
His hunting hat is a symbol that makes him stand out from the rest of society and shows his individuality. While talking to Ackley about his hunting hat, Ackley says, “Up home, we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake,’ he said. ‘That's a deer shooting hat.’ I took off the hat and looked at it. I sort of closed one eye, like I was taking aim at it. ‘This is a people shooting hat,’ I said. ‘I shoot people in this hat,” Holden defensively responds (Salinger 26). Holden views his hat as something that makes him unique from everyone else and he doesn’t want to be thought of as conforming to society. Holden’s hat is a symbol of his singularity and detachment from the outside world. One critic, Alsen, agrees with this and says, “For one thing, it can be seen as a badge of Holden's deliberate non-conformity.By turning the visor backward Holden suggests that his values are the reverse of what everybody else's are,” furthering the point of Holden’s alienation (Alsen). Because Holden feels this disassociation from society, it causes him to dread adulthood because he doesn’t want to join a society he feels isolated …show more content…
Growing up is a nerve-wracking experience that can leave you uncertain about the future. It can be an inspiring period in someone’s life because it provides independence, continuous change, and a deeper understanding of the outside world. Unfortunately, it can also be the opposite and cause dread of adulthood, loss of innocence, and lack of guidance and direction. Holden feels all of these emotions while transitioning into an adult. In, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger connects with the reader to explain the essential parts of growing up. Ultimately, feeling lost is a crucial part of life, although it is scary, at the moment, it is the start of the transition into
The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield is a very unique person who many people can relate to. He is a 17 year old boy who hates school. Not only does he hate school, he has gotten kicked out of many schools in the past and the book starts off revealing how he was getting kicked out of his current school, Pencey. Although Holden is easily related to, he also has many aspects that distinguish him from the rest of the people. Holden has went through multiple tragedies that have affected him greatly
already. Holden’s thoughts and feelings describe his reaction to this event, and although the dialogue is of his own mind, his thoughts are still very open for interpretation. His thoughts help the reader understand his character and motives. Holden faces many problems as well. Holden is clearly depressed and we can see this through his actions and behavior. Important things such as the red hunting hat, Allie’s baseball mitt, and the ducks are symbols that represent fears Holden that change how he sees
Holden’s red hunting hat is one of the main symbols in the book, The Catcher in the Rye. The hat represents individuality and uniqueness. It symbolizes the confidence, self esteem, and comfort in who someone is. Holden is only willing to express himself when he is alone, with no one around. He looks for approval. Holden does not want to be seen negatively in any way. The hat is a symbol that Holden uses to tell Phoebe that she should always stay the same. Also, to tell her that she should be confident
life of Holden, a teenage boy who struggles to grow up because he does not want to be part of the adult/corrupt world and he does anything to avoid reaching adultness. The symbols in this book, such as Holden’s red hunting hat, the ducks, and the carrousel, represent Holden’s struggles to grow up and symbolize how change is a natural process for humans to grow and develop themselves. The red hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s loneliness and denial to accept change. In the entire
many instances where he puts on a red hunting hat. This hat represents Holden's isolation and reluctance to lose his innocence. Holden sees innocence lost so often in his life that he needs something to protect him. Holden puts on the hat in times of loneliness or need. The hat frequently provides Holden with a safe space where he does not need to worry about growing up or losing his innocence which shows the overarching idea of Holden being the preserver
Almost every person will have to say goodbye to a loved one who has died. When an adolescent goes through this experience it could traumatize them. John Green once said “Grief does not change you. It reveals you.” In other words, the loss of a loved one doesn’t change who you are but reveals your character. A novel that explores the effect of grief on a young person is The Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger. The Catcher In The Rye is a novel about a teenager, Holden Caulfield, who is confused and
just your personal likings, it can show you alter ego. Holden uses clothing to show his internal self through his red hunting hat. He uses the hat as a way to show his true identity and change what others think about him. Holden thinks the hat places him in a certain social
Holden’s Valuable Accessory “The Catcher in the Rye” is a 1950’s novel written by J.D. Salinger. It tells a story about a teenage boy who travels to multiple locations throughout New York after being kicked out of his school, Pencey. Throughout the book, Salinger uses numerous amount of symbolism to show the feelings of the main character, Holden Caulfield. One of the most recognized symbol is Holden’s red hunting hat. It is present in many situations and has abundance amount of symbolic characteristics
illness. But what will actually work? How does someone fix something that's ‘not there’? J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher In The Rye, tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a troubled boy haunted by his own demons who escapes to New York after failing out of his fourth school. Holden wanders around the city, with no place to stay, no one to talk
events around, it exhausts him leading to loneliness in the city. J.D. Salinger symbolizes the pain of growing up through the Museum of Natural History, the Comin thro’ the Rye poem, and Holden’s red hunting hat, and to show process of accepting adulthood. A memorable event most adolescents are field trips with their school. Growing up in overnight private schools, Holden often went on field trips in grade
like he is twelve, including his father. Caulfield does agree that he does sometimes act like an adolescent, but not all the time. As he states "Sometimes I act a lot older than I am —I really do—but people never notice it. People never notice anything" (13). This d¬¬¬¬oes show that he does put forth effort to act his age, but sometimes he gets way out of hand. Throughout the book, he does act as if he is mature, but some of his actions that he does are far past his age level. One example is when he
situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.” The symbolism throughout the novel illustrates Holden’s isolation from the adult world. In the beginning of the Chapter Three
Cetchir on thi Ryi”, by J.D Selongir, os ebuat e buy nemid Huldin Cealfoild. Hi thonks thi edalt wurld os e banch uf “phunois.” Thi nuvil cunteons meny kiy symbuls thet hilp divilup thi nuvil, end tu hilp shuw Huldin Cealfoild’s puont uf voiw un thi wey hi siis thi wurld. Thrii uf thisi kiy symbuls oncladi: Huldin Cealfoild’s rid hantong het, thi dacks on thi Cintrel Perk leguun, end Thi Masiam uf Netarel Hostury. Oni uf thi must ompurtent end ricugnozebli symbuls on thi nuvil os Huldin Cealfoild’s
contributes to the overall theme on how growing up is a part of life. To begin, in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, symbols revolve around Holden’s life and show his confusion about growing up. In the novel, Holden and Ackley, a boy portrays himself as disgusting and nosey, discuss the meaning of a red hunting hat Holden owns in their dorm at Pencey Preparatory School. While Ackley considers it a deer shooting hat, Holden bluntly states, “This is a people
*The Red Hunting Hat: In the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield buys an odd red hunting hat in New York City. He believes the hat is a bargain since he only paid $1 for it. The red hunting hat has a large amount of significance in the book. The symbolism behind the red hat is Holden’s attraction to unusual items. This attraction to unusual items shows his uniqueness and individuality. It also shows his constant need to be different and isolated from others. The need form Holden to be