Motif Work: Red Hunting Cap

Better late than never?

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Red Hunting Cap

- Symbol of Holden's uniqueness and individuality (shows he wants to be different from everyone around him, so much so he needs a corporeal object to portray that desire with, ironically- the hat barely serves its purpose as Holden; throughout the duration of the novel seems to be reluctant to be seen wearing the cap)
- He always mentions when he wears it
- He doesn't wear it if he is going to be around people he knows.
- Materialises Holden's inner conflict with his need to prove himself worthy of his own thoughts versus his desire to feel connected with someone other than himself.
- The hat shares the color of Allie and Phoebe's hair- perhaps shows his desire to create a link with them he can see and feel.
- He always mentions the cap in a very specific manner; the fact that its a HUNTING cap or hat. He never refers to it as just a hat, or a cap.
- In chapter 3: "I shoot people in this hat" shows the length of Holden's contempt for his surroundings.
- A cap is worn around the head. Holden wears the hat when reading or as warmth against the cold. Either way the hat protects Holden's head. He wears the hat to feel comfort, and to feel secure- as if he's almost.... scared that he'll lose his mind if he doesn't.
- Its a hunting cap- Holden is hunting something.

- He wears the bill pointing backward, the way he likes it. This is reminiscent of catchers on a baseball field. Also a long bill might obscure his vision. Holden values his observation skills, he doesn't want to lose what he feels to be his strongest connection to the world. What he sees.

- In chapter 13, he wears it walking to the hotel, after which Holden goes off on a colossal tangent about his yellowness; it is during this tirade that Holden is honest with himself; without caring for the implications of the realization that he would rather walk away than get into a fist fight as is the manly way he would stick to his guns- appearances in society wouldn't matter more than his own morals (being a pacifist), ironically- self-importance is still an issue. ALSO; here, he stops himself before he can make excuses about why he acts the way he acts- he is self aware that his behaviour isn't any better than many of the people, though many times, he makes excuses for it (its the only way to survive);
one) "I'd probably go down to the can and sneak a cigarette and watch myself getting tough in the mirror" rather than engaging in physical combat.
two) "I never seem to have anything that if I lost it I'd care too much. Maybe that's why I'm partly yellow. It's no excuse though. It really isn't"
Perhaps Holden also bought the cap to hunt for something he'd care for if he lost it. Grief and perhaps guilt is evident here- ALLIE- maybe he is regretful of not appreciating his time with his brother, he never knew what he had until it was gone.

- "I didn't give a damn how I looked. Nobody was around anyway" Holden wants to be an individual, but he's scared of the implications that come with becoming one.

- Holden is implied to be a dark haired Caufield sibling, yet it is made clear that Phoebe and Allie were both redheads. This might be because D.B. - wasn't specified whether he had dark hair or red hair- has a similar color to Holden's. Holden doesn't want to follow in D.B.s footsteps- he doesn't want to sell out to "Hollywood"( society), and he doesn't want to prostitute himself. Again, the hunting cap being red can be seen as a way to be closer to both Phoebe and Allie. This is also social commentary as Allie and Phoebe are both the younger half of the Caufield siblings. Holden is portrayed to be in a hurry to become an adult- maybe he sees it as a way to be truly independent or as a way to escape from the uncertainty that comes with the adolescent age- and yet, he seems to admire both Phoebe and Allie's innocent, untainted, childish characteristics more so than D.B's adult conformity. Yet again, Holden is shown to be a paradoxical character.

- In the middle of the book, during Holden's lonesome adventure in the adult world, the red hunting cap protects him from various maelstroms of weather. This is symbolic of how when faced with problems in society, the only thing an individual can do is depend on themselves. Also, as the hunting cap is seen by Holden as a rather juvenile item, the fact that he clings to it hesitantly represents how unready he is to be by himself, to become an adult.

- When Phoebe is shown running towards Holden wearing the Red Hunting Cap near the end of the book, Holden is discouraged from running away from home because he sees that someone he knows- someone he is close too shares something with him and when Phoebe puts it on his head, she reassures him that she does love him, individuality, corniness and everything in between.

Shayan

Chapter 4: Summary and Analysis
SUMMARY
The chapter begins as Holden accompanies Stradlater to the can and they converse while Stradlater shaves himself in preparation for a date. Holden then enters a mental soliloquy in which he compares Stradlater’s unhygienic personal habits with those of Ackley, concluding that Stradlater is more of a “secret slob” (pg23). Holden’s mind then directs itself towards criticising Stradlater’s obsession with his physical appearance. His thoughts are interrupted by Stradlater who asks if Holden can write a composition for him. Holden doesn’t give a definitive response, instead he inquires about the subject matter of the composition. Stradlater’s responds by saying “anything descriptive” (pg23), “just don’t stick all the commas and stuff in the right place”(pg23). This response provokes, within Holden, another mental comparison between Stradlater and Ackley, who both view things superficially. Holden then begins to tap dance but is soon hindered by his lack of breathe. He introduces his red hunting hat to Stradlater and they enter another conversation regarding Stradlater’s date. Holden suddenly feels the urge to wrestle Stradlater and he immediately concedes to it, however, he is easily overpowered. The two then resume their previous conversation and Stradlater reveals that his date is Jane Gallagher. Holden is shocked by the revelation and he enters a frenzied state in which he bombards Stradlater with details of Jane and his experiences with her. Stradlater ignores most of the details, but shows interest in one of the more sexual details. Holden’s mind becomes dominated by thoughts of Jane and the threat that Stradlater poses to her innocence. Holden’s thoughts become more frantic as Stradlater leaves but he is soon conveniently distracted by Ackley’s entrance.
ANALYSIS
This chapter relate to the concept of the individual and society by reiterating the values of society that Holden does not conform to and is alienated by. He groups Stradlater and Ackley together by criticising their simplified and superficial view of things. Stradlater says “don’t stick all the commas and stuff in the right place” which conveys his superficial understanding that good writing is defined by correct grammar. Meanwhile, Ackley explains a basketballer’s talent with “Coyle had a perfect build for basketball” (pg25). This again, conveys a superficial view of a subject. Holden replies to these views with “God, how I hate that stuff” (pg25) and by grouping Stradlater and Ackley together through something he detests, he alienates himself from both.
Holden’s wrestle with Stradlater is also a metaphor for his struggle with society. Stradlater, who easily overpowers Holden, symbolises society. This metaphor helps emphasise a non-conforming individual’s struggle against a society which has more power to enforce its intentions.
Holden also describes Jane Gallagher “She wouldn’t move any of her kings” (pg27), “She’d get them all line up in the back row” (pg27) this is a metaphor for innocence as it suggests a need to be protected because once a king is out on the field there is a risk of it being taken. Jane requires protection from corruption in the form of sexual contact. Jane’s innocence is further espoused when Holden says “she just liked the way they looked” (pg27). This conveys Jane’s innocence through her childish admiration for the appearance of something which is morally correct (i.e. celibacy).
The three aforementioned quotes are juxtaposed with the line “Stradlater didn’t say anything. That kind of stuff doesn’t interest most people” (pg27). This juxtaposition highlights the rift between Holden and society by contrasting Holden’s obvious interest with Jane’s kings (innocence) and “most people’s” (society’s) disinterest in the issue.
Holden is frenzied because he fears for Jane’s innocence as she might fall for (and conform to) Stradlater’s (who symbolises society) seduction the same way he was overpowered during his wrestle with Stradlatter.

Rajneil

Chapter 21SummaryIn Chapter 21 Holden decides to go back home and check up on Phoebe. He arrives in hisbuilding and takes the elevator up. The elevator boy is not the usual worker and Holdentakes advantage of this by lying to him. This allows him to sneak into his apartment withlimited number of people knowing. He gets to his apartment and sneaks through theapartment as his mother is a light sleeper and commonly cannot get to bed. He realizesthat Phoebe sleeps in D.Bʼs bedroom when he is away. When Holden arrives in the roomhe pays attention to Phoebeʼs books before waking her up, they start to discuss variousthings including Phoebe in the school play, their parent are at a party and the recordHolden bought. The conversation changes when Phoebe asks why Holden is home earlyand she eventually figures out that he has been kicked out of school again. Phoebe getsangry repeating that father will get angry. The chapter ends when Holden goes out into theliving room to get some cigarettes.TechniquesSymbolism: “The one on top is called Arithmetic is Fun!”. Phoebeʼs books have interestedHolden. This is rather odd as Holden has no interest in his own studies. the book as asymbol may show his admiration for other intellectual people. It may also be a reminder ofAllie and his intelligence as Holden remembers it.Mood: “How come youʼre not home on Wednesday...you didnʼt get kicked out oranything...” This change in the mood is very sudden as Phoebe is reveled more in thestory, by figuring out Holden got kicked out we are shown her intelligence and she goes onby repeating “You did!”, showing her stubbornness. This use of mood has developedPhoebeʼs character more showing though she is very close to Holden she does have herdisagreements.Allusion: “...write a picture about Annapolis.” With the publication of The Catcher in the RyeAnnapolis was the capital of the United States temporarily and now is a town. Thecharacters talk about it being a movie and ironically in 2006 it did come out as a film.Though the tone of Holden towards Annapolis is very negative and judgmental, he wasjudgmental of the whole idea of D.B writing in Hollywood and despises the idea greatly.This can show Holdenʼs prejudice nature of various themes in the book, but mainly of D.Bwriting in Hollywood.Individual and SocietyHolden explores the concept of individual and society briefly in this chapter. However, andexample of his individualism is him lying to the elevator boy, this is probably the only timeHolden lies for effect. Him lying further alienates him from himself loosing his identitythrough “phonies”. At the end of the chapter he goes for some smokes, going for smokeseven at the oddest of times shows his desperation to fit into society, to be like everyoneelse, but he contradicts himself by calling all of them “phonies”.-Rajneil Prasad

James

Chapter Summary (20)
Holden keeps getting drunk. He makes a phone call late at night to Sally which angers her grandmother. Holden then tries to make a date with the hat-check girl. He drops Phoebe’s record. He went to the park to see if he could find any ducks but he couldn’t find any. He thinks about catching pneumonia, dieing and imagines his funeral, he missed Allie’s funeral but used to visit his grave but stopped. He then decides to go pay Phoebe a visit at home while he thinks he parents are sleeping.
Symbolism is used three times in this chapter. The first time is the “red hunting hat” which can be a symbol for Holden’s uniqueness and individuality as well as being red like Phoebes and Allie’s hair which can show that Holden looks up to them as they are not only his loved siblings but as they can be a sign of innocence to him. The second time symbolism is used is the ducks in the pond. The ducks can be a symbol of being a child which can mean that since they can’t be found, he isn’t a child anymore, or the ducks could be a symbol of the stableness of Holden’s mind and since they cant be found, it can mean that Holden isn’t very stable. The third symbol is the “Little Shirley Beans’ record” which can be a symbol of childhood for Holden, or for Phoebe. Since it breaks it can mean that Holden isn’t a child anymore, however it can also mean that he can’t stop Phoebe from growing up.
Repetition is used in this chapter several times. It is used to emphasis certain points but however it can also be used to show the fact that Holden’s mind isn’t very organized so he repeats himself a lot and doesn’t know exactly what he said. It also shows that he is rambling on about mostly minor things which can relate to how certain things affected his life, such as Allie’s death.
The motif of ‘death’ also appears in this chapter. Holden thinks about dieing from pneumonia and imagines his funeral; he also talks about Allie who is dead. This could be foreshadowing the fact that there is something in the ending that could be surprising, the fact that Holden is in an institution. The effect of this is that we can see him as more human and realize that he isn’t insane.
This chapter shows that Holden isn’t one with the society around him, and that he is an outcast. It shows us by showing us how unstable his mind is during the chapter by using repetition and symbolism such as the ducks. It also shows that Holden can be like a child at times.

Liz

Chapter#2 Summary
Holden discusses with his (ex) history teacher: Mr Spencer, about how Holden is a moron and helping him... Throughout the chapter, Holden is criticising Spencer, the school’s he’s been too (especially Elkton). It shows his contempt of the society which he lives in, thus alienating himself from it. Also he does not mention who or what he likes, but what he does not like, further showing that he believes society is ‘bad’ and such.
One) Repetition: He constantly repeats statements (not one after the other, but he still repeats them), showing that his state of mind is child-like as all he can think of is excuses and repeating them. “He’s a phony, she’s a phony...” (No, this isn’t an exact quote)
Two) Irony: He says he hates, for example, when Spencer says “boy”, yet just before: “I also say ‘Boy!’ quite a lot”. It shows that his hatred, possibly due to Allie’s death, runs deep enough to hate society and the qualities in which he has as well. It also, stated by him, show he has a weak vocabulary, thus a similar character.
Three) Truncated Sentences: This also shows his state of mind being similar to a younger child.
Throughout this chapter, through the before mentioned techniques, it shows Holden has a very child-like character/state of mind. This may be due to society, or society has isolated him because of it, or even Allie’s death. Regardless, it separates him from society, making him into an ‘individual’.

Justin

English Chapter Summary by Justin TeoChapter 5 Chapter 5 explores a typical Saturday night at Pencey, narrated through the same cynical tone of the character Holden Caufield established in prior chapters. As the curtains close on an uneventful night, Holden reminisces about his brother Allie and his baseball mitt. Consequently, Holden is forced to face his tragic past, the tragic past which has turned him into the person that he is. Holden’s constant use of hyperbole outlines his dissatisfaction with the world around him, and the consequent detachment from society. “I dropped about a thousand hints; Already told me about a hundred times”. The effect of using hyperbole creates a larger impact in comparison to the use of a smaller and less significant quantity. The use of informal tone and colloquial language allows the reader to establish a more personal connection with Holden. Through the first person narration we see everything and understand everything from Holden’s point of view. Ironically, Salinger is then able to evoke emotive response through the use of an impersonal tone when Holden speaks about Allie, and his baseball mitt. This impersonal tone and detachment from emotion is shown through various statements that Holden makes: “He’s dead now; I broke all the windows just for the hell of it”. These statements show no feelings of sadness, which may surround an underlying problem that Holden has not been able to properly deal with Allie’s death. This problem may be the cause of Holden’s insecurity and detachment from society. The use of short sentences when Holden is talking about Allie, may be commenting on his detachedness with these memories (hence the sentences are short detached), and outlines how his detachedness with the memories also detaches him from the emotions that go along with it. Chapter 5 deals with the cause that has made Holden the person that he is an insecure adolescent who feels resentment towards everything in life, as a result of the death of his brother Allie. Chapter 5 is able to comment on the concept of the individual and society because it shows how and why Holden seems to have the inability to interact with society. Emotions are a universal trait that every human being should be able to understand regardless of race, religion, sex, etc. Since Holden appears to have no emotions, he cannot understand the emotions of his society, and therefore cannot act accordingly.

Dhruv

Review
Chapter 18 of this FANTASTIC book called ‘Catcher in the Rye”, tells the story of Holden trying to call Jane again, but gets no answer. He only has a few numbers in his address book, so he calls an old friend named Carl Luce, who now goes to Columbia. Carl agrees to meet him at ten o'clock. That gives Holden a lot of time to kill, so he goes to see a movie. He thinks about D.B.'s experiences during World War II. The chapter ends with Holden thinking that if there is another war, he will volunteer to sit on top of an atomic bomb.
Techniques
Imagery – When Holden recalls his movie experience he thinks about suicide and his selfishness, in thinking about war he thinks only of himself. It’s as if he’s so alienated the rest of the world doesn’t exist for him. His own perspective is a barrier between him assimilating into the society.
Narration – The whole chapter is in 1st person, making us learn only the character’s point of view. However, using 1st person can show some bias as we’ve seen in this chapter with Holden making comments on people and situations.
Allusion – Some of the allusions in this chapter is when Holden refers to The Great Gatsby and Ring Lardner. This not only helps us compare the situation but also shows that the character is educated as he’s making references to other texts.
Through these techniques we see that Holden alienates himself from society through his thinking and attitude towards other people. Also when he talks about suicide he means that by killing himself, it’s the only way out of this world which he can’t control or understand, as he can’t fit into one society and seems to be nomadic. Also with Holden wearing his red-hunting hat, it’s a sign of independence, separation, and protection from the world, he creates his own alienation for the same purpose. While his alienation protects him, it also severely harms him, making him intensely lonely and depressed. Therefore, he tries to meet with the other characters, in hope to show some sympathy.
Dhruv Kaushik