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subway, Holden sees the hat in a New York shop and purchases it without hesitation. Holden is
constantly ridiculed for his hat; first, because a hunting hat looks out of place in New York
City, and secondly, because Holden wears it backwards with the front peak in the back and the
back of the hat partially covering his eyes. Every time Holden wears the hat, he is either facing
an uncomfortable social situation or is attempting to cope with an over-stimulating
environment. Readers are introduced to the hat when Holden confronts his irritating roommate,
Ackley, who teases Holden for wearing what he calls a "deer shooting hat" (26). While Ackley
teases him, Holden sits in an arm chair with his hat turned backwards reading Out of Africa by
Isak Dinesen, a book he admits he has read several times. Out of Africa is a colonial text where
a nostalgic protagonist describes her time living on a farm in Africa, where she interacts and
cares for the local people and wild animals. It is no surprise that the novel appeals to Holden as
it feeds his nature fantasy. Because Holden deliberately inverts his hat in this scene, and in
several other scenes throughout the text, one can conclude that the hat must hold symbolic
significance. Inversion is often a signifier for the opposite, therefore by inverting his hat,
Holden rejects the role of a hunter. Holden observes a world where man is hunter and nature is
his prey, where man is conqueror and nature is the conquered. His hat is an outward reflection
of his inward state: he disagrees with the common conception that nature is hierarchical, that
man is the hunter and conqueror of nature. Instead, Holden wishes to find a more balanced and
harmonious relationship with nature.
It is evident that Holden believes establishing a harmonious relationship with nature will
quell the anxieties of city life, but his plans to leave the city are merely fantasies: while his
ideas are beautiful and idyllic, they are unrealistic and unobtainable. For example, when his
younger sister, Phoebe, asks Holden what he wants out of life, he responds:
