English Essay: The Catcher in The Rye.
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” J.D Salinger uses a variety of symbols such as the red hunting hat that Holden wears. The hunting hat sums up the message of the novel very well, Holden despise what he calls “phonies” when he himself is one.
Holden Caulfield wore this red hunting hat to stand out of s group and look different. That was Holden’s main psychological condition; he called people phonies for conforming with the rest of society to so call “fit in”. Holden really hated these people and called them out throughout the novel. The red hunting hat made Holden believe he was different, like he stood out from a crowd and wasn’t conforming like everyone else.
The red hunting hat had great significance to this novel and to Holden because it gives him a fake sense of being different in society, which is what he wants; to be different to not be a phoney. The hat develops Holden’s character as a hypocrite. The fat makes him feel like he’s someone else, not himself, which in his definition that means he is a phoney, hence why he is hypocritical.
If Holden didn’t wear his red hunting hat he feared he would lose his identity as being different. Holden just wanted to be different than everyone else, just like in society some people have clothes they wear that make them feel different or better than other people, to Holden this was his hat. Nobody else wore a red hunting hat around a city, he wanted to be different and stand out. To Holden the hat symbolized something very powerful to him, he always tried to be different and now with his hat he is, an accomplishment of some sort, one of his prized possessions.
In conclusion, Holden Caulfield is a very psychological complex character in the novel, who has an obsession with being different. He buys a red hunting hat he said “just for the hell of it” that he wears in public so he won’t look like a “phoney” in his eyes, to not conform to...
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