Hexagon Activity: Symbols

The three symbols in Catcher in the Rye are Holden's red hunting hat, little Shirley Bean and mummies. The red hunting hat represents Holden's unique personality and is a way in which he alienates himself from the society. "My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway" (212,213) It really provides Holden a sense of security and comfort. “It was freezing cold, and I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on- I don't give a damn how I looked” (88). He is trying to get close to Allie who has red hairs, so that he can keep connections with Allie forever. The little Shirley Beans represents the Holden's childhood. Breaking the record can be seen as breaking his childhood innocence. The actually meaning of the song is about the sexuality which Holden thinks phony. Holden doesn't like actors and singings by anyone who is related to Hollywood where Holden thinks full of phoniness. The mummies also show the phoniness. The mummies represent the death and the preservation of life. Holden tells Mr. Spencer that he is not engaged in the ancient Egyptians but he really finds it interesting. "Well you should. It's very interesting. They wrapped their faces up in their cloths that were treated with some secret chemical...Even modern science" (203). The different ways he tells people about himself shows his phoniness. By mentioning the mummies, Holden also thinks about the death. Back to the symbol, red hunting hat, Holden feels so insecure because his brother, Allie's death brings him the sense of disappearing. "Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to Allie [..] 'don't let me disappear. Please, Allie'. And then I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing" (198). Allie's death has a deadly impact on Holden. He becomes do afraid of disappearing. That's the reason why Holden always wears his hunting hat because it gives him a sense of security. When he recalls Allie, we can see the innocence that is attached to him. Holden breaks the window is like breaking the innocence. Holden feels the inequality in the world. No matter how good a person is, you can not choose your fate. The red hunting represents Holden's inability to change. He imagines himself standing in the edge of the cliff protecting kids from falling off. “Anyways, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of Rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I meant except me.  And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff...I have to catch everybody if they start to go over”(173). Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye so that he can save the innocent kids from falling into the phony adult world. Holden's hate of the adult world can also be shown by the symbol, little Shirley Bean. “I guess the first store I went into had a copy of Shirley bean.” “I could hardly wait to go to the park to see if old phoebe was around so I could give it to her.” Holden wants to give it to Phoebe as a gift. He thinks it could help save Phoebe's innocence as a little happy girl. Overall, these three symbols are used to represent Holden's personality and emphasize the themes that the author wants to express.