RE: The Catcher in the Rye home assignment
Salinger weaves a variety of symbols into The Catcher in the Rye, including (but not limited to) the red hunting hat, the ducks in Central Park, and Allie’s mitt. Select and analyze one symbol that Salinger uses in the book. Explain how Salinger develops this object as a symbol throughout the story. Discuss the symbol’s meaning and significance, and explore its contributions to the overall message of the novel.
Allie’s Baseball Glove
Allie’s left-handed baseball glove is a physically smaller but significant symbol in the novel. It represents Holden’s love for his deceased brother as well as Allie’s authentic uniqueness. Allie covered the glove with poems written in green ink so that he would have something to read when things got boring in the baseball field. This mitt is not a catcher’s mitt; it is a fielder’s glove. Holden has shown it to only one person outside the family: Jane Gallagher. When he writes a descriptive theme about the glove for Stradlater to turn in for his English assignment, of course, the insensitive roommate does not understand.
