Isolation and Protection in Holden s Red Hunting Hat
... Salinger, Holden Caulfield uses his red hunting hat to give him isolation and protection against caring about others. Although some may argue that Holden uses his hat as a way to get attention and companionship, Holden actually uses his hat to isolate and protect himself from getting too close to those around him. If Holden is able to avoid caring about others, then they will have no reason to care about him. Holden first describes his hunting hat on page 17. He says, “I put on this hat that I’d bought in New York that morning. It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks…The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back…I liked it that way.” The hat has many interesting characteristics that represent Holden. It is interesting that Holden would choose a red hat because red is often a color that draws attention. The first color people see is red. Some would see that choosing a red hat would make Holden different from the rest of the world and therefore allow him to indulge in the attention and companionship of others. However, red is also symbolic of passion and aggression. In actuality Holden chooses a red hat because it is a symbol of his own passion and aggression against caring about others. ... Holden’s choice of a hunting hat is symbolic because he is constantly searching to find where he fits in with the rest of the world. ... Unfortunately, Holden often chooses to be left alone. An example of this is when Holden uses his hunting hat to “kill” his relationships with people as a way to isolate and protect himself from caring about other people.