The Color Red in Salingers The Catcher in the Rye Essay

As once said by Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher, â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living.† He believes people should read between the lines, and in the case of books, delve into what the author is trying to say by using symbols and imagery. To someone who does not examine the book, The Catcher in the Rye, it may seem to be about a â€Å"messed up† teenager who wanders around town and doesn’t care about life. But when a range of ______ are explored, one will find that this book has common themes of innocence, changing, growing up and also death. It is discovered in various _____ the novel, such as in The Museum of Natural History, his red hunting hat, and the ducks in the Central Park Lagoon. The main character, Holden Caulfield, has†¦show more content†¦In the book, he makes two trips to the museum, but the first time he doesn’t go in. The second time he seems to be making a transition from youth to adulthood. He shows two children around and enjoys the museum in a new way. This shows that he is maturing and accepting change. ______. His red hunting hat is symbolic of many things. He wears it during important times such as writing the composition about Allie’s baseball glove, yet he seems to be embarrassed to wear it in public. â€Å"I took my old hunting hat out†¦ and put it on. I knew I wouldn’t meet anybody that knew me† (122). Even though he lacks confidence to wear it frequently, it becomes a part of how he sees himself. He acknowledges that it’s â€Å"corny† but he personally likes how it looks; it is a symbol of his uniqueness and desire to be different. The red color of the hat is also noteworthy, the same as Allie and Phoebe’s hair. He may associate ‘red’ with purity and innocence those characters represent and wears it as a connection to them. Holden is very inquisitive about where the ducks in Central Park go in the winter. His questioning the cab drivers of this shows a youthful willingness in him to discover what he is curious about. â€Å"You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?† (60) The cab drivers give mostly thoughtlessShow MoreRelatedHolden Caulfield s The Catcher Of The Rye1493 Words   |  6 PagesJerome David Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, describes Holden Caulfield’s journey to understand the complexities of growing up and his purpose. In the beginning, he is in a mental hospital somewhere near Los Angeles and is writing about this â€Å"madman stuff† to a psychoanalyst. Holden flunked out of Pencey Prep and leaves his dormitory to go on a journey around New York to find his way through post-wa r New York society. At the same time, he is suffering from depression and is on the vergeRead More Comparing Maturation in Catcher in the Rye and Red Badge of Courage1421 Words   |  6 PagesMaturation in Catcher in the Rye and Red Badge of Courage    The Catcher in the Rye and The Red Badge of Courage detail the gradual maturation of two immature boys into self-reliant young men. The steady speed at which Salingerà ­s and Craneà ­s language streams enables the reader to see the independent events that lead up to the ultimate rite of passage for both Henry and Holden. Although the pinnacle of maturity Holden reached concerned his pessimistic view of the world and Henryà ­s was a unifyingRead MoreJ.b. Salinger s The Catcher s The Rye 1319 Words   |  6 PagesJ.D. Salinger’s Use of Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger is well known for his works. His most famous being The Catcher in the Rye. Two other of his famous works include Nine stories and Franny and Zooey. J.D Salinger is also well known for his sense of humor that he includes inside of his books. The Catcher in the Rye has become an essential work to be studied in academic literature and its course of study. This book entails many uses of symbolism throughout theRead MoreCatcher in the Rye and Red Badge of Courage - the Maturation of Holden1325 Words   |  6 PagesThe Catcher in the Rye and The Red Badge of Courage detail the gradual maturation of two immature boys into self-reliant young men. The steady speed at which Salingers and Cranes language streams enables the reader to see the independent events that lead up to the ultimate rite of passage for both Henry and Holden. Although the pinnacle of maturity Holden reached concerned his pessimistic view of the world and Henrys was a unifying moment of bravery, both boys experienced an epiphany over theRead MoreA Milestone Essay1508 Words   |  7 PagesMaturity: A Milestone Grace, a fourth grade student, sat with her parents at the park. The excited little girl was telling her parents all about her teacher, Mrs. Triple, when something caught her eye: a red butterfly fluttering about the colorful flowers. She immediately ceased speaking and bolted over to see what this fabulous creature was! The way that it glided from flower to flower simply entranced her; Grace thought this creature was the most fantastic thing in the world. It simply amazed herRead MoreRed Hunting Hat Essay1145 Words   |  5 PagesWhen Holden Caulfield buys a red hunting hat he buys it for individuality and every time he mentions his special hat he searches for companionship from others. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the red hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s central conflict: the need for isolation vs the need for companionship. Holden notices and buys the red hunting hat in New York after losing the fencing equipment for the Pencey Prep team. The first person to notice the hat is a boy named Ackley, afterRead MoreCatcher in the Rye Archetypal Analysis3753 Words   |  16 PagesINTRODUCTION Jerome David Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is a work of fiction and a tragic-comedy. It is an interesting and controversial novel. Though controversial, the novel appealed to a great number of people. It was a hugely popular bestseller and general critical success. I chose this novel because of the negative status it has with parents, teachers, and school. I wanted to discover what the roots of this controversy are. The main character, Holden Caulfield, tells aboutRead MoreLoss of Childhood Innocence: the Transition to Adulthood2831 Words   |  12 Pagesabout success and materialistic pursuits. Others say that society cannot change and that it will continue to be corrupt and filled with selfish individuals, regardless of whether or not there are a few who are truly honest. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield categorizes anyone, usually an adult, who is insincere as phony and runs away from the corrupt adult world, ultimately demonstrating that the world would be a better place if it’s filled with children’s innocence andRead More Mythology and Archetypes in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird2536 Words   |  11 Pages(just as Jem and Scout do) who is thrust into an unjust world he has trouble adjusting to, similar to Jem and Scout, who have difficulty adapting to the adult world they are suddenly faced with; likewise Holden Caulfield in J.D . Salingers novel The Catcher in the Rye is essentially a child who embodies and values innocence to such an extent he goes to great length to preserve it, and has so has immense trouble adapting to the troubling world of adults he encounters, perhaps best depicted byRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 PagesRousseau (1763) Geschichte des Agathon, by Christoph Martin Wieland (1767)—often considered the first true Bildungsroman[9] Wilhelm Meister s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1795–96) 19th century[edit] Emma, by Jane Austen (1815) The Red and The Black, by Stendhal (1830) The Captain s Daughter, by Alexander Pushkin (1836) Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontà « (1847)[21] Pendennis, by William Makepeace Thackeray (1848–1850) David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (1850) Green Henry, by Gottfried