to contemplate his life. “I was still shivering like a bastard, and the back of my hair, even though I had my hunting hat on, was sort of full of little hunks of ice” (154). Holden becomes worried when his hat fails to keep his hair from freezing. This is the first time that his hat has failed him, and this is when he realizes that it doesn’t have any power to make him different. After realizing that his hat doesn’t have these powers, Holden is ready to give it up. When Holden is leaving Pheobe, after sneaking into his apartment to visit with her for a little while, he tries to give her his hat. “Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat picket and gave it to her…She didn’t want to take it, but I made her” (180). After Holden realizes that his hunting hat doesn’t do what he once thought it did and gives it to his sister so that he can move on. However, this attempt is fruitless because it is soon returned to him. Holden has told Pheobe that he will not run away, and given him back his hat. Holden sits watching Pheobe ride the carousel as he sits in the rain, reflecting on his hat he says, “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway” (213). Holden realizes that while his hat fails to give him protection from the weather, it did help him grow up. It did this by letting him express his emotions, and then by letting him give it up.Holden’s hunting hat serves as a metaphor for his growing up; the more he grows up the less he uses his hat as an aide. Throughout the book it seems as though Holden uses his hat unconsciously, until the end, where he seems to divulge his knowledge of the aide of his hat. Does Holden really know how he is using his hat throughout the book, or does he merely realize at the end? The world will never know. What we do know, however, is that he progressively estranges himself from his ...
