The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J. D. Salinger and is set around the 1950s.

Holden Caulfield narrates his story which is centred around his journey through New York
after being expelled from his old school, Pencey. The protagonist Holden, who is 16 years
old has many problems, such as fearing change and growing up. He makes the transition
from innocent childhood to phoney adulthood. It is seen as a coming-of-age story and
tackles difficult topics like death and identity. To make these points clear to the reader,
Salinger uses symbolism in the writing. Symbolism is a way to show a complex idea that can
be understood and recognised in a variety of ways while giving a story additional depth and
meaning. Salinger accomplishes this throughout The Catcher in the Rye's entire text by
using symbolism.

Holden only wears the hunting hat at specific times or moments throughout the text. He
normally wears his hat to give himself more confidence and sometimes he gives his ‘boost
of confidence’ to Phoebe when she needs it. When Holden is feeling anxious, embarrassed,
or scared, he takes the hat off. He is embarrassed to wear the hat in public and he’s
confused about who he really is or who he wants to be. He wears the hat in times when he
feels like he is different from everyone around him, and he decides to not wear the hat
when he chooses to be part of the norm. Holden learns to embrace his true personality as
the narrative progresses. As he strolls through the streets of New York towards the end
of the book, he wears the hunting cap with increased assurance and confidence.

“She reached in my pocket and took out my red hunting hat and put it on my head”

In the last chapters of the novel, Phoebe took the hunting hat from Holden’s pocket and
placed it on him. This symbolises that she accepts Holden for the way he is. The red
hunting hat has come to symbolise Holden’s identity and show the struggles that Holden
has to find out who he is. Holden has always wanted to be different and unique from
everyone else and this is shown by him wearing the red hunting hat backwards. This is
something that a baseball catcher normally does, and it’s also connected to Allie and his
baseball mitt. The bright red colour of the hunting hat is hinting towards the fact that
Holden is trying to hide yet stand out. The colour red also symbolises blood, death, and
anger. The red hat reminds him of Phoebe and Allie’s red hair, who are the people he cares
most about, and this is another reason why Holden treasures it so much. The link between
standing out and hiding and holden wanting to grow up yet stay a child shows Holden’s
indecisive nature. Hunting hats aren’t something a teenager his age would normally wear
are used to hide while hunting so this shows Holden trying to blend in with the crowd. The
hat is unfashionable like Holden as he doesn’t fit into society. On the other hand, the
hunting hat is bright red, which is unusual as this makes him stand out.
When Holden plans to run away, he gives the hat to Phoebe. He believes that the hat
offers shelter, and he wants Phoebe to be protected from the adult world. Phoebe is
wearing the hat when she wants to run away with Holden, and she gives it back to him to
protect him from the rain. The hat makes Holden feel like he is protected and safe from
adulthood.

In the last chapters of The Catcher in the Rye, Phoebe is riding the carousel and is
reaching for the gold ring. Holden watches from a distance and he realises that kids will
always grow up, take risks and end up suffering many difficult things in life such as life’s
traumas as they mature. Here Holden accepts that growing up is necessary and accepts
the fact that you can not protect a child from it, and it’s better to just accept it.

“The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it,
and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them

Even though the children might get hurt, it’s better for them to go through it on their own
rather than being told. A child needs to go through growing up on their own. The child is
left in charge of the "aimless quest" for the gold ring as Holden comes to understand that
it is necessary to grow up by themselves.

The Catcher in the Rye frequently uses symbolism, and this clarifies Holden's feelings and
thoughts for the readers. The images convey to us Holden's love for kids and the reasons
he longs to stay a kid. Holden believes that adulthood is full of phonies, so he wants to
prevent kids from 'falling' into adulthood. Holden is shielded from the outside world by his
red hunting hat and because red reminds him of his siblings’ hair, it also serves as a
connection to them. At the end of the book, Holden accepts that it is necessary to grow up
and these symbols represent the acceptance. He accepts that he’s different, the
phoniness of adulthood, and that all children will eventually growing up someday.