Symbols In The Catcher In The Rye
In the Catcher in the Rye, a young boy named Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of Pencey Prep School. Before heading home to tell his parents about getting kicked out of school, he recounts many adventures in New York City. Three objects or symbols are important to Holden. The first symbol is Holden’s red hunting hat. Second are the ducks at the lake, which is a symbol that symbolizes his struggle with change. The last symbol is the Museum of Natural History. All three of these symbols contribute to the message and themes in the novel.
Holden is the kind of person who isolates himself from everyone who surrounds him. He has this desire to not conform. He even seems to dislike making friends. Holden’s hat is and object he values and likes to wear. He’s enjoys wearing it with the old peak way around back. The hat resembles him. They are both unusual and odd. This shows us how Holden enjoys standing out in crowds of people.
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Since the displays at the museum never change, being surrounded by the exhibits made Holden feel like he fit in. It was like being in his own world. Not having to change would mean Holden wouldn’t need to worry about moving from childhood to adulthood, and neither would he need to deal with the phoniness of the adult world. Holden deals with a lot of phoniness throughout the novel. The way old Spencer embarrasses Holden and reads his essay out loud is an example of how Holden encounters phoniness (pg 11).
Holden’s red hunting hat, the ducks at the lake, and the Museum of Natural History are all very important symbols in the novel. Each of these three symbols or objects relate to Holden through one of the four themes; Alienation, the painfulness of growing up, the phoniness of the adult world, or the pressure to conform. All three symbols are equally important because each one of them does not only shape Holden but they all resemble on how Holden truly
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Symbolism In Holden Caulfield's Red Hunting Hat
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Catcher In The Rye Red Hunting Hat Quotes
741 Words | 3 PagesSalinger does a phenomenal job developing the red hunting hat into a symbol by emphasizing how important it was to Holden throughout the novel. When Holden is leaving the hotel, whilst walking out the door he grabs his coat from the hat check girl. He then proceeds to show her his hat. “I showed her my goddamn hunting hat and she liked it”(169).
Analysis Of Quotes From 'Catcher In The Rye'
513 Words | 3 PagesIn chapter 25 of J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, when Holden is at Mr. Antolini’s house, Mr. Antolini gives Holden a quote on a piece of paper for him to quote. The quote was, ‘The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for a one.’ The meaning behind this quote is that a person wanting to die in order to prove something is unreasonable, while wanting to live to prove something makes more of an impact. What the author of this quote is saying makes a lot of sense because when you are dead, there is nothing you can really do for whatever your cause is. If you try to live for a cause, on the other hand, you will actually be able to serve a purpose to the world.
How Does Holden's Baseball Mitt Symbolize In Catcher In The Rye
658 Words | 3 PagesSince one of Holden’s few sources of comfort comes from an object, we can tell how alone he truly feels. Additionally, the symbol of the hunting hat Holden wears represents anger and isolation. At one point, Holden fights with Stradlater. After the fight, Holden remains beaten up, depressed, and all alone. He puts on his hunting hat, almost for comfort or companionship.
Catcher In The Rye Setting
890 Words | 4 PagesThis shows that the Museum is a symbol of Holden’s reluctance for change, in himself and in the world. Central Park is the location where Holden goes in order to answer his question of where the ducks go in the winter. This question could represent Holden’s
Catcher In The Rye Loneliness Analysis
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Catcher In The Rye Rhetorical Analysis
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Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis
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Theme Of Maturity In Catcher In The Rye
837 Words | 4 PagesIn The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, introduces the protagonist; Holden Caulfield. Holden feels the sense that he cannot choose between the two worlds. For example, he makes it seem as both of them are complete opposites from each other. In the book, Holden wants to keep his innocence, but he also wants to grow up and toss that innocence away. He still keeps his childhood personality by constantly obsessing over things that shouldn’t matter.
Catcher In The Rye Internal Conflict
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Holden's Use Of Materialism In Catcher In The Rye
1695 Words | 7 PagesThe lagoon itself is symbolic of Holden’s longing for an eternal childhood, the frozen state representing a lack of change. The ducks represent the rest of society which Holden fails to assimilate with. Another symbol of this is the Museum of Natural History which Holden enjoys visiting, for similar reasons as the lake. He enjoyed going to the museum because “Nobody’d move.” and “nobody’d be different”. Holden visits this museum twice throughout the novel.
Red Hunting Hat Symbolism
435 Words | 2 PagesThe red hunting hat represents Holden’s allure/endearment to unique qualities in objects and people, that normally go unnoticed by others. The hat also symbolizes Holden’s individuality and unwillingness to conform to society’s
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