Holden's Hunting Hat

One interesting detail in The Catcher in the Rye that I’ve noticed is how often Holden will mention his unique hunting hat. As you may recall, he first obtained the red hunting hat for a dollar after leaving all the fencing team’s equipment on the subway. Even Holden admits it’s “corny” when he wears it with the peak in the back but he “likes it that way”. The hunting hat is an interesting item to consider because it’s sort of an inconsistent symbol, if it is at all. At first, I was inclined to think that the hunting hat, being so gaudy, represented how Holden knew he was different from everyone else and wanted to show it. But after looking for passages with mentions of the hat, it becomes unclear.Sometimes Holden seems proud, wearing his hat. He mentions multiple times that he really “got a bang” out of wearing it. He carries the hat everywhere he goes, and Holden seems incomplete without it. After Holden gets beaten by Stradlater, he searches for his “goddamn hunting hat”, making the two seem nearly inseparable. At other times though, Holden seems to be ashamed of wearing the hat. He usually takes it off in public, like when he was riding on the train or checking into the hotel. Holden acknowledges the hat makes him look like a “screwball”.

These two conflicting things make it harder to identify whether the hunting hat is symbolic of Holden’s identity and attitudes towards other people. For me, this aspect of the hat is inconclusive. However, I did notice that Holden always removes his hat in the presence of other adults, which brings me to my next point.

It may be that the hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s attachment to childhood. After all, most adults wouldn’t be caught wearing such an odd hat. Holden knows this and therefore takes his hat off around them. On the other hand, Holden puts on the hat at specific times, such as when he was writing about Allie’s baseball mitt, and when he leaves Pencey. He also puts on the hat after getting beaten by Stradlater, imagining himself himself as a tough hero covered in blood. To me, that symbolizes Holden’s desire to cling onto his childhood, which is as unrealistic as his ideal vision of the “tough Holden” in the mirror.

We also discussed the “catcher in the rye” scene in class, talking about how Holden wants to protect the other children from falling off the cliff, which could symbolize falling into adulthood. If we believe this to be true (which I think it is), then this further strengthens the argument of the hunting hat representing Holden’s own attachment to his childhood.

In the last scene, as he watches Phoebe ride the carousel, it starts to rain. Holden mentions that “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway”. I thought of this symbolizing Holden sort of coming to terms with his age. He can dream as much as he wants about the idealized world and childhood, but in the end, he cannot avoid the fact that he will grow up. It is inevitable.