catcher in the rye :: essays research papers

As defined in The American Heritage Dictionary, symbolism is defined as the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings of significance to objects. The book â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† by J.D. Salinger was the only novel he has written. The novel The Catcher in the Rye is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who’s trying to find himself and what he’s supposed to do with his life. Through his journey he gets kicked out of many schools, interacts with unusual characters, and has many different events that are unusual. Throughout the novel, he will be told he needs some kind of help and at the end he too will realize it himself. Why is Holden’s red hunting hat significant because, his hat is red like Allies hair, he’s hunting for truth, and he wears it like a catcher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, Holden’s red hunting hat is significant because of him wanting to be the â€Å"Catcher in the Rye†. Also, Holden’s red hunting hat demonstrates symbolism because his hat is representing the fact that he wants to â€Å"save kids from losing their innocence† by catching them as would a catcher do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"And I am standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all† (173 Salinger). Also, Holden’s trying to save kids from making the same mistakes that he would by catching them before jumping into adulthood he doesn’t want them to grow up making the same mistakes that he did. Holden soon realizes that he can’t catch every single kid from falling into adulthood because it isn’t in his powers to help them because it’s a move they have to take.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, Holden’s red hunting hat has another significance which is being that it’s the same color as the color of Allies hair. This demonstrates symbolism because he really didn’t have a closer relationship with Allie. He feels bad that he had blown them off those few times that he wanted to hang out with him. Also, Allies red hair and Holden’s red hat reminds Holden about his brother and what he meant to him.