A Criminal Reading of The Catcher in the Rye: Mark David Chapman's Case

Abstract

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) still holds the status of being a phenomenal novel especially in terms of readers’ reactions. The central character Holden Caulfield appealed to troubled feelings of many readers as he is known for his condemnation of insincere behaviors and attitudes as phoniness. This attitude later became a shared emotion for some ardent readers. Among the fans of Holden Caulfield was Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon of Beatles dead, on 8 December 1980. Minutes after the murder, he was found in the crime scene reading The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman later claimed that he killed Lennon because he was influenced by the novel and started identifying himself with Holden Caulfield, who is one of the best examples of an anti-hero. There is a paradox here because even though Chapman identifies with an anti-hero, he thinks he is doing something heroic by killing John Lennon. In short, this article aims to focus on this discrepancy and explore the complex relationship between Chapman’s interpretation of The Catcher in the Rye, his psychological state, and the tragic consequences of his actions.

Keywords

• The Catcher in the Rye
• J. D. Salinger
• Holden Caulfield
• Mark David Chapman
• John Lennon

ÇAVDAR TARLASINDA ÇOCUKLAR ROMANININ KRİMİNAL BİR OKUMASI: MARK DAVİD CHAPMAN VAKASI

Abstract

J. D. Salinger'ın Çavdar Tarlasında Çocuklar (1951) başlıklı romanı özellikle okuyucu tepkileri açısından hala sıradışı olma özelliğini korumaktadır. Romanın anlatıcısı ve baş kişisi Holden Caulfield, samimiyetsiz davranış ve tutumları sahtekarlık olarak kınamasıyla tanındığı için birçok okuyucunun benzer duygularına hitap etmiştir. Bu tutum daha sonra bazı fanatik okuyucular arasında ortak bir duygu haline gelmiştir. Holden Caulfield’ın hayranları arasında, 8 Aralık 1980'de Beatles grubunun solisti John Lennon’u vurarak öldüren Mark David Chapman da vardı. Cinayetten dakikalar sonra, olay yerinde Çavdar Tarlasında Çocuklar romanını okurken bulundu. Chapman, daha sonra Lennon’u romandan etkilendiği için öldürdüğünü iddia etti ve kendisini en bilinen anti-kahraman örneklerinden biri olan Holden Caulfield ile özdeşleştirmeye başladı. Burada bir çelişki bulunmaktadır çünkü Chapman kendini bir anti-kahramanla özdeşleştirse de John Lennon’u öldürerek kendince kahramanca bir şey yaptığını düşünmektedir. Kısaca, bu makale bu çelişkiye odaklanmayı ve Chapman’ın Çavdar Tarlasında Çocuklar romanını yorumlayışı, psikolojik durumu ve eylemlerinin trajik sonuçları arasındaki karmaşık ilişkiyi incelemeyi amaçlar.

Keywords

• Çavdar Tarlasında Çocuklar
• J. D. Salinger
• Holden Caulfield
• Mark David Chapman
• John Lennon

References

1. Abrams, M. H. (1999). A glossary of literary terms. Heinle & Heinle.
2. Bayrak Akyıldız, H. (2014). Eylemsizlik ve anti kahramanların dönüştürücü gücü üzerine.
3. Humanitas, 4 (4), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.20304/husbd.89798
4. Bloom, H. (2005). Short story writers and short stories. Chelsea House Publishers.
5. Evans, R. C. (2009). Alienation, materialism, and religion in J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. In H. Bloom (Ed.), Bloom’s literary themes: Alienation (pp. 41–49). Infobase Publishing.
6. Fawcett, A. (1976). John Lennon: One day at a time. Grove Press.
7. Jenkinson, E. B. (1985). Protecting Holden Caulfield and his friends from the censors. The English Journal, 74(3), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/816502
8. Jones, J. (1992). Let me take you down: Inside the mind of Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon. Villard Books.

9. Levine, P. (1958). J. D. Salinger: The development of the misfit hero. Twentieth Century Literature, 4(3), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/440966
10. Menand, L. (2001, September 27). Holden at fifty: The Catcher in the Rye and what it spawned. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/10/01/holden-at-fifty
11. Ohmann, C., & Ohmann, R. (1976). Reviewers, critics, and The Catcher in the Rye. Critical Inquiry, 3(1), 15–37.
12. Rakoff, J. (2014). My Salinger year. Bloomsbury Publishing.
13. Salinger, J. D. (1991). The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown Books. (Original work published 1951)
14. Slawenski, K. (2010). J. D. Salinger: A life. Random House.
15. Stashower, D. (2010). On first looking into Chapman’s Holden: Speculations on a murder.
16. The American Scholar. https://theamericanscholar.org/on-first-looking-into-chapmans-holden-speculations-on-a-murder/
17. Steinle, P. (1991). If a body catch a body: The Catcher in the Rye censorship debate as expression of nuclear culture. In R. Edsforth & L. Bennett (Eds.), Popular culture and political change in modern America (pp. 127–137). State University of New York Press.
18. Sutherland, J. (2011). How literature works: 50 key concepts. Oxford University Press.
19. Turan Tilbe, B. (2019). Antik kahramandan anti kahramana: Kahraman kavramının kökeni ve gelişimi. Çeşm-i Cihan: Tarih Kültür ve Sanat Araştırmaları E-Dergisi, 6 (1), 142–158. https://doi.org/10.30804/cesmicihan.578233
20. Whitfield, S. J. (1997). Cherished and cursed: Toward a social history of The Catcher in the Rye. The New England Quarterly, 70(4), 567–600. https://doi.org/10.2307/366646