"I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked and put it on. I knew I wouldn't meet anybody that knew me, and it was pretty damp out" (Holden Caulfield - CITR). Holden's red hunting hat from the book Catcher In The Rye, is one of the most recognizable symbols from twentieth-century American literature. It represents his individuality and need for security, while also representing his mixed emotions on acceptance, alienation, conformity.
Holden's red hunting hat appears frequently throughout the book but one of the most significant appearances is in chapter 13. He bought the hat right after he lost the fencing equipment on his trip with the team. This is an example of the hat's symbolization of alienation from the world in which he lives. Holden bought it, after all, when the team members ostracized him, and it sets him apart from everyone else. .
The hat mirrors the central conflict inside Holden; His need for alienation versus his need for companionship. Holden is a very reclusive person and the hat assists him in hiding and remaining reclusive, which could be considered a kind of security. He likes to alienate himself from society but has a strong desire and need for companionship that is evident in how seldom he wears the hat.
The red hunting hat is outlandish, and it shows that Holden desires to be different from everyone around him. However, he is very self-conscious, and he only wears the hat when he is in a secluded place or is around those he does not know. This shows his inner desire for conformity, while he outwardly shows disgust for conformist ideas. His hat reveals that he wants to be unique but just enough where he is still within the boundaries of normality. .
" but it was freezing cold and 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 earflaps down," (Caulfield). This sentence reveals, once again, the hat's security purposes.