Red Hunting Hat Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye

Growing up can be a scary, confusing journey for most children, whom may not have people to encourage and provide a sense of security for them. J.D Salinger has greatly expressed the struggles of growing up “alone”, in his astonishing coming of age novel “The Catcher and the Rye”. Salinger utilizes the red hunting hat, the duck in the lagoon and The Museum of Natural History as symbols throughout the novel to show the worries of growing up with the story of Holden Caulfield. Holden, when he is depressed and/or feeling lost, he turns to his red hunting hat for comfort. In the novel Salinger writes about this hat Holden buys on his way back from New York, “It was this Red hunting hat, with one of those very very long peaks…” (17-18). When Holden was feeling uncomfortable while he was in the cab, he put on his hat to calm his nerves “I’d put my red hunting hat on in the cab for the hell of it but took it …show more content…
As for Holden, he believes that everything should stay the same” the best thing though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was, nobody would move... Certain things they should stay the way they are…” (121-122). this means that Holden wants everything to stay the same in his life; he doesn't want to grow up he wants it all to stay the same. While Holden was wondering the museum he went to the mummy's tomb and “then... It was so nice and peaceful. Then, all of a sudden, you’d never guess what I saw on the wall, another “F you”. (204). When Holden reads those words, it just baffles him, because even when everything seems fine and peaceful those words just sum up his feelings. This develops the idea of Holden’s fear of the unknown fate of growing up because he is unsure of how his life will turn out. This clarifies the reasoning of one’s readiness of growing up, with needing to find comfort to know they will be