The Catcher in the Rye #2

Either this book is filled with symbols or I'm over analyzing.  To start off, I think that Holden's red hunting hat is very important to this story and it has much more than only one meaning.  He knows that it isn't the most attractive thing in the world but he wears it anyway.  However, who he is around when he wears it is a different story.  It seems like he only wears it when he's around people that he's really close with like Pheobe or Stradler, but he keeps it in his pocket when he's around people that he's just met or people that he's not really that good of friends with, like the ladies in the Lavender Room or the weird prostitute who he hires just to talk to.  "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" (pg. 122).  I think that this might be his attempt to try to grow up a little bit.  Sure he's going to be the same old Holden around the people that he's comfortable with but when he's out and about, he never says anything about this hat.  I think this red hunting hat can be a symbol of his immaturity.  I also think that the hat is a protection to him of some sort.  The hunting hat shields his weird, immature, and awkward personality from the outside world.  Holden doesn't want to conform to, or be a part of society (especially in New York City) and this hat is a form of "sticking it to the man" per say.  It's unique and it shows that Holden wants to be different and separated from everyone else.  Now this last symbol of the hat may be quite the stretch but it works in my mind.  The hunting hat is red, which is the same color as Allie's and Pheobe's hair.  Maybe another reason why Holden wears this phony hat is so that he can feel closer to them, especially Allie.  The hat symbolizes the companionship that he has for his brother and sister, not so much D.B. though.  He never really shows love towards him which may also be a reason why he wears it.