The Catcher in the Rye Symbols Red hunting

The Catcher in the Rye Symbols

Red hunting cap

Red hunting cap n Quote: Took off hat—I looked at for the 19 th time. p. 29 n “This is a people shooting hat—I shoot people in this hat. ” p. 22 n “I wore it I swung the old peak way around the back—very corny I’ll admit, but I liked it that way. ” p. 18 Ideas: Non-conformity/individuality Dislike of society and the people around him Security, confidence, safety

Ducks in Central Park pond

Ducks in Central Park pond n Quote: “I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got icy. ” p. 13 n Ideas: Holden getting out of his comfort zone Where does he belong in the world? Transition from childhood to adulthood

Pencey Prep

Pencey Prep n Quote: p. 2 Always showing some hotshot guy on a horse jumping over a fence as if all you do is play polo …” n Ideas: Phoniness or snobbishness

Baseball mitt

Baseball mitt n Quote: p. 38—Brother’s mitt, wrote poetry in green ink on it. Brother is dead now. n Ideas: Innocence (his brother was great, dreamy, just a cool kid), a part of Holden’s own loss of innocence (brother is dead and Holden is in pain) Connection to theme topic: innocence

Museum of Natural History

Museum of Natural History n Quote: “Best thing … everything always stayed right where it was. ” n “Nobody’d be different, the only thing that would be different would be you. ” n Ideas: Reminds him of himself—how he wants to stay in one place Doesn’t want to gain “history” wants to stay innocent You can rely on the museum, but not people. n Connection to theme topic: Gowing up/innocence/phoniness

Carousel

Carousel n Quote: n Ideas: Goes around—we keep coming back to ourselves, but have the chance to grab the gold ring. We might fall, but we still need to try and keep going (different from museum in that it doesn’t just stay in one place). n Connection to theme topic: