The Catcher in the Rye, The Bible and a mad man

"We have bacome more popular then Jesus" John Lennon was joking when he said this. and a mad man who was fixated on Holden Caulfield from the Catcher in the Rye killed him because he was a Fundie Christian, he thought Lennon was a fake and a phoney for preaching peace and love, but for being rich. (As if being rich excludes you from ideals which you had before you became rich) So for all those great Lovers of the Catcher in the Rye and the Bible remeber the crazed ramblelings of a demented young man named Mark David Chapman "I was praying for Satan to send me one of his more experienced demons, not a little one, this is a big thing and I need a bid demon...My face got all red and fiery,and teeth like this, and i felt like I was very powerful you know, and John was going to die. Nobody in the whole world,knew what was going on in that room, [that] I was going to kill him" "I would look at the picture of Lennon and say: 'You phony I am going to get you" From People Magizine March 2, 87 the whole series of articals start with Feb, 23 87 March2, 87, and March 9,87.
Now I am not saying that Mark Chapmen was not totally crazed to begin with. I am not saying that The Catcher in the Rye, or the Bible are bad books I liked them both. What I am saying is don't make any book the soul focus of your life. Especially works of fiction. (Yes to me the Bible is fiction). It is beter to take some things in this life with a grain of salt. If Mark Chapman had, maybe Sean Lennon would have known life with a father. Maybe the youth of of the world would have been able to share in the magic that was John Lennon until such time as he died naturally. People can argue that the death of John Lennon was meant to happpen. I know I may not speak to the views of all people on this site. That is not my intention. It is never my intention to reach everyone. I hope that someone will read these words and decide that hating someone or killing someone or themself because of something a book says or makes you feel is not the right thing to do.

 

Some people are just plain crazy. Related to the Beatles, look at Charles Manson. Scary stuff, and a shame Lennon died so early. A shame many people died young- the Kennedys, MLK... how would history have been different?

 

I know man I often wonder what life would be like...Linclon was not young but I bet he would have even changed history even more man.

 

Yeah, it's really interesting to think about if the world would be any different if these people were still around, but, they're not, and we'll never know.

 

The Catcher In The Rye was an excuse for a weak mind. It's my favorite book - I even carry it around sometimes but anyone who kills or hates on account of a book (the Bible was a good example!) shouldn't even be allowed to surf this site! I think the book has a lot more to it than a story, though. It's deceptively simple, that book, and Holden is such an intriguing and delightful character - I sympathize with him a great deal. J.D. Salinger was obviously impossible to reach for questioning but I'm sure he would laugh at the prospect of his book meaning what Mark David Chapman took it to. That Holden-kid is a prince, a goddamn prince. Crazy bastards...

 

i don't disagree with anything you guys are saying. MaccaByrdi don't think there are many crazy murderous types allowed to venture this site. I hope they don't consider themselves Hippi's if they are then it's my belief that they are wrong in that assessment. (in my oppinion it is a misnomer to call Charles Manson a hippi...not everyone with long hair and a beard is a hippi) That was my exact point...that taking books to seroiusly can make you crazy.

 

Manson hated hippies he liked the free sex and how easily controled they were though

 

I disagree. I don't think the blame can be laid on these books. Some people love reading and they enjoy the stories very much. Some even feel apart of that world the book is describing. That doesn't mean they act out violent scenes or twist the words into new,dillusional meanings. The problem is that some people don't know the difference in reality verses fiction. I think the people you are speaking of were "off" to begin with.

 

I was told to read the Catcher in the Rye by my 9th grade Psychology teacher. Of course the book was banned from being read in school at that time, but she felt like It would become one of my favorite books. It did. I still read the book a few times a year, and have gotten tons of other people to read it as well. I truly believe that people who think books/media/music etc. should be held responsible for peoples actions are completely close minded. The Catcher in the Rye is somewhat of a Cult Classic, and though it has been closely tied with many killers (look it up on google) I find it to be even more interesting. I was told by the same teacher that if you read this book continuously over a span of a few years madness will consume you. I can't say I believe this, but I do believe there must be subliminal messages in the book, and maybe J.D. Salinger did this on purpose in order to control the feeble minds. Who knows. I'll always love this book though, no matter what happens to tarnish it's reputation.

 

I loved Catcher In The Rye--and I have yet to killl someone...although I've only read it once. No, you guys are right--to blame media, music, books, etc...for someone's actions is not the right thing to do. I get so sick of people saying that video games and stuff are the reasons for school violence...yeah, right...violent kids are the reason. What is a "cult classic"? Hehe...I wanna read Catchter again now. And I will Google the connection between killers and Catcher...that sounds interesting!

 

"A cult classic is a work of fiction, usually a film or television show, that is extremely popular with a select audience, but may or may not be successful at the time of its original release. A cult classic may or may not enjoy mainstream success."

My examples would be: any John Waters film, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Plan 9 from outerspace, Naked Lunch, The Bell Jar, etc. etc. etc.

I'm a huge fan of a shit-load of 'cult classics' I have always taken interest in the things most other people think are shitty haha.

 

Hmmm...interesting...that's really cool. Thanks for the explanation.

 

No prob.

 

You are quite correct. I thought I made it clear that the guy was nuts to begin with. I should have said that those people who are already mentally unstable and highly sugestable can become even more crazed when taking fictional literature to litterally. I would like to add as a side note, that I Loved "The Catcher in the Rye. I am not much of a Bible fan. However, my oppinions of the books are irrelavent to the point of the forum topic.