Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Catcher in the Rye Inspires Murder of John Lennon
It has been said that The Catcher in the Rye was the reason Mark David Chapman shot and killed the Beatles' John Lennon. Chapman read the book many times and started to adopt some of Holden Caulfield's beliefs. One was that people are phonies. Holden mentions people being phonies and how much he hates them in the book. Also, before he killed Lennon, Chapman said something about Lennon knowing where the ducks go in the winter, which is a reference to The Catcher in the Rye. There were some other examples from the book that might be a a reason it drove Chapman crazy. On page 104 there is a paragraph that describes how Holden wanted to kill the elevator man, Maurice, for taking an extra $5.00 from him. It makes him seem like a psycho.Another is when holden says "I swear to God I'm a madman." Chapman could have believed since he was like Holden he had to be a madman too. Finally, throughout the book, Holden mentions being depressed constantly. This could have had an affect on Mark David Chapman as well.
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This is definitely a valid point. I like how well you back up your analysis with examples - It makes you that much more credible.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with one of your points. Towards the end of your post, you imply that Chapman lost his marbles because he was trying to emulate Caulfield. While that’s an interesting theory, after doing some research on Chapman and the Lennon murder, I came across a lot of evidence to suggest that Chapman has suffered delusions since a very young age. Besides that, I still think you have a valid point in connecting the two. Perhaps Chapman used the book more as justification of his already off-kilter mental health. Regardless, I think that Chapman was a little crazy even without The Catcher in the Rye.
I agree that certain aspects of the book can be interpreted in a violent way. Such as the part you described about him explaining how he would kill someone. Although, I believe that it is a coincidence that these people have read the book. I don't think it caused them to become killers, they were messed up already and maybe just needed the right spark.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taila. A book probably isn't going to make someone a killer without them being a little crazy. I do agree with you that it had a big impact on him killing John Lennon because he would call himself Holden Caufield and he hated "phonies".
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