Red Hunting Hat Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye

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Isolation has been used for protection for thousands of years whether it be by the The Todas, a native tribe of the Western Ghats or by young children upset by their parents so they flee to their rooms. The red hunting hat symbolizes an external conflict of Holden’s; he uses it to isolate himself, not from himself but from other people's ridicule. The ducks symbolize an internal conflict of Holden’s; he compares the ducks to himself and the actions that he take while physically, the ducks represent very little. New York City is an external conflict; most of the conflicts he runs into are connected to other people and other things. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger accentuates the theme of isolation as a form of self protection when the …show more content…
Leaving his home and source of both stress and security, "I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I liked it, and then I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, "Sleep tight, ya morons!" I'll bet I woke up every bastard on the whole floor. Then I got the hell out..." (Salinger 52). Holden is leaving Pencey and all his old consistency leaving the Hat as his only source of consistency and he will have it with him the majority of the story. Holden’s hat had many uses one of which is physical protection. Walking down the road after leaving Pencey "... I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on--I didn't give a damn how I looked. I even put the earlaps down. I wished I knew who'd swiped my gloves at Pencey, because my hands were freezing (88). This instance of the hat’s use is for protection from the cold, this protection aids Holden’s pursuit of isolation as it allows him to conquer an obstacle which could otherwise drastically reduces the duration of his trip. Holden uses his hat to remind himself of his old life “Holden is sad and lonely but at least he has his red hunting hat to protect him and make him smile a bit.”(Olan). Holden is a sad boy, but Olan shows that he used the hat as a source of happiness. This instance of the hat’s use is for protection from the emotional toll of being an outcast. Olan enlightens the …show more content…
Feeling the sorrow of a long day filled with mishaps, “I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away“(7). His life as he knows it is freezing over and he wants to know how the birds manage to adapt. Attempting to hold onto his youth, holden reverts to more sophomoric tendencies.“Holden's search for the ducks represents the curiosity he possess as a young man and is something enjoyable because it is also what Holden lacks in many aspects”(Bungert). The search of the ducks show the curiosities of the life he is leaving, but desperately trying to cling to. Allowing his curiosities of his youth to take over "...Do you know, by any chance? I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves – go south or something?" (44). After leaving Pencey Prep, Holden experiences a taste of adulthood and feels his old life becoming a world he doesn't know if he is prepared for. “... I figured I'd go by that little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing, see if they were around or not, I still didn't know if they were around or not.” (82). As Holden grows up his “pond of adolescence” freezes over. Resisting the pull of adulthood, holden stops by the
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