The catcher un the rye effects ??

After Mark Chapman shot five bullets into John Lennon, he sat down on the sidewalk, took out a book from his overcoat pocket....and read several pages while waiting for the police.
The book was J D Salinger's "The Catcher In The Rye"


Mark Chapman read and re-read this book during 1979 and 1980, until he came to believe the book had been written to express his own life. He identified so strongly with the fictional character of the book, he told his wife he wanted to change his name to Holden Caulfield.
Holden mirrored Chapman and Chapman mirrored Holden.
He had to go to New York to walk in Holden's footsteps.
He saw himself as the new "Catcher" for his generation, and believed his story would become the new final chapter in the book.

What is special about The Catcher In The Rye?


On arrival in New York in December 1980, Chapman realised he had left his copy of "The Catcher in the Rye" back home in Hawaii, so he went into a book store on 5th Avenue to buy a new copy.
On the shelf before him was an edition of the book in a bright red leatherette cover with yellow lettering. He thought it looked dramatic and highly significant. Plus, it was the last copy on the shelf - Chapman regarded that as a clear sign it was meant for him. Destiny was shaping his every movement.
In the front of the book he wrote
"This is my statement.Holden Caulfield - The Catcher in the Rye"
"The Catcher In The Rye" is a novel about adolescent aimlessness, and dissatisfaction with everything. Holden Caulfield, the main character, is disgusted with the phoniness of everyone he meets. The book describes a few days near Christmas, when Holden has been expelled from his school, and is wandering around New York, before going home to see his younger sister Phoebe. It deals with themes of teenage anxiety over sex, the feeling that everything is soiled, and innocence is lost. It is also, perhaps, for Holden, a journey back to childhood, when things were more simple.The book's main theme is about protecting little children from the evils of the world: a theme he saw and heard echoed in the lyrics of Lennon's new "Double Fantasy" album.
It was as if Lennon himself was claiming to be the new Catcher for his generation....this not only outraged Chapman, but it also confirmed to him that Lennon was a dangerous phoney who had to die.