J.D. Salinger, in his coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye, repeatedly uses Holden Caufield's red hunting hat as a symbol to show Holden's growth from a young man terrified of becoming an adult to one who begins to accept that he must be able to live in an imperfect world. In the beginning of the story, Holden introduces the hat as being red and floppy, and he purchases it in a store in …showed first 75 words of 450 total…

…showed last 75 words of 450 total…on him and he accepts it. Holden now believes that he should stay at home and face his responsibilities. The hat is something that Holden bought for himself, yet in the end it became a mark of society on Holden because the peculiarity of the hat separated him from others. So, through the symbol of the red hunting hat, J.D. Salinger was able to show how Holden grew and changed throughout the whole novel.