J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is about a teenage boy’s journey through New York in attempt to find his identity. Lost in his own little world the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, refuses to face reality in an effort to escape his numerous problems. J.D. Salinger uses several examples of symbolism throughout the novel to represent the thoughts and true personality that Holden attains. Two main examples of Salinger’s symbolism include the ducks in Central Park and the red hunting hat. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden questions about the location of the ducks in Central Park. On the way to the Edmont Hotel in New York, he asks the cab driver if he knew “where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?” (Salinger
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It first appears in chapter three when Holden is reading in his dorm at Pencey Prep. Ackley comments on his hat which Holden responds by “clos[ing] one eye, like [he] was taking aim at it” and describes it as a “people shooting hat”(Salinger 26). Holden states that his hat is a “people shooting hat” because he strongly dislikes those who are phony. He even pulls his hat down to try to halt the conversation with Ackley. In situation’s like this Holden's red hunting hat is a symbol of his alienation. In the middle of the night Holden leaves to go to New York. Walking in the freezing cold weather, he is wearing his hat claiming that he put it on without giving a “damn how [he] looked” because “Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack” (Salinger 60). This reveals a moment were we see how lonely he actually feels when alienating himself from others. This also helps represents his personality, in which he wears the hat to be unique and stand out. Holden desires to be different from everyone else, yet he is very self-conscious when wearing the hat around those he is familiar with. At the end of the novel, Holden passes down the red hunting hat to Phoebe. This symbolically represents his departure from childhood and his need to protect others. He “felt so damn happy all of a sudden” watching “the way old phoebe kept going around and around” on the carousel (Salinger 233). While watching Phoebe on the carousel Holden realizes that the circle of life requires people to enter and departure childhood into adulthood. He accepts that it is time for him to transition and gives the hat to Phoebe to protect her from the phoniness of the world and keep her
It first appears in chapter three when Holden is reading in his dorm at Pencey Prep. Ackley comments on his hat which Holden responds by “clos[ing] one eye, like [he] was taking aim at it” and describes it as a “people shooting hat”(Salinger 26). Holden states that his hat is a “people shooting hat” because he strongly dislikes those who are phony. He even pulls his hat down to try to halt the conversation with Ackley. In situation’s like this Holden's red hunting hat is a symbol of his alienation. In the middle of the night Holden leaves to go to New York. Walking in the freezing cold weather, he is wearing his hat claiming that he put it on without giving a “damn how [he] looked” because “Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack” (Salinger 60). This reveals a moment were we see how lonely he actually feels when alienating himself from others. This also helps represents his personality, in which he wears the hat to be unique and stand out. Holden desires to be different from everyone else, yet he is very self-conscious when wearing the hat around those he is familiar with. At the end of the novel, Holden passes down the red hunting hat to Phoebe. This symbolically represents his departure from childhood and his need to protect others. He “felt so damn happy all of a sudden” watching “the way old phoebe kept going around and around” on the carousel (Salinger 233). While watching Phoebe on the carousel Holden realizes that the circle of life requires people to enter and departure childhood into adulthood. He accepts that it is time for him to transition and gives the hat to Phoebe to protect her from the phoniness of the world and keep her