The Catcher In The Rye Analysis

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Growing up is a painful experience for most teenagers. As Kurt Vonnegut once put it “maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists” (goodreads). Childhood activities are replaced with rigorous school assignments, responsibilities and an increasing amount of expectations from adults. As a teenager, one is expected to carry out all new responsibilities while also dealing with the conflicting emotions brought on by merging into the adult world. Holden Caulfield, the main character and narrator of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is forced to deal with the frustrations of growing up while also grieving over the death of his brother. Salinger’s use of various symbols in The Catcher in the Rye greatly illuminates the painfulness of growing up. …show more content…

Holden purchases the hunting hat while on a trip with his school’s fencing team. He describes the hat as being “this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. 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” (17-18). Many young people have items that they cling to for security while transitioning into adulthood. The red hunting hat plays such a role in Holden’s life. While recalling one of his numerous cab rides, Holden says “I’d put on my red hunting cap...but took it off before I checked in. I didn’t want to look like a screwball or something” (61). This seems to illustrate that Holden puts on his hunting hat when he is in a situation in which he doesn’t feel like adults will judge him. It also shows that Holden takes off the hat when he doesn’t want to look out of place among other people - he doesn’t want to draw attention to

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