English Symbolism of Holden Caulfield In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. Salinger uses many symbols to describe or characterize Holden Caulfield. For example, Holden uses the word "phony" many times to describe other people, when in reality he himself is a phony. Another symbol that is used throughout the novel to characterize Holden is the hunting hat he had just purchased in New York City. The hat represents Holden's awkwardness; it does not fit in with the environment, nor does he. Throughout the novel, J.D. Salinger uses symbols to characterize Holden in a very unique way, and to get a better perception of the world in which he lives in. The root of Holden's problem is that he is desperate to find a missing link. Holden is desperately trying to escape avoid becoming a phony. He sees all these phonies around him; at the schools he goes to, at the theaters, people he doesn't even know,in the people he knows and people he reads about. For example, when Holden is at the train station waiting for the train to arrive he comments on his situation: ".If I"m on a train at night, I can usually even read one of those dumb stories in a magazine without puking. You know. One of those stories with a lot of phony, lean-jawed guys named David in it, and a lot of of phony girls named Linda or Marcia, that are always lighting all the goddamn David's pipes for them." (pg. 58) He figures the only way he is going to escape from becoming like that is to defy the rules and be as opposite from a phony as possible. At the same time, he has trouble being true to himself because he gets very lonely in the process. He keeps coming back to these phonies that he hates just because he needs some companionship. He cannot find the happy medium between phony and genuine Another plight that Holden is facing is that no one understands the problems he is experiencing. He has a way of putting up this front and making is seem as though everything is okay.