Catcher In The Rye Essay

The Catcher in the Rye has been linked to many murder cases throughout it’s time. Mark David Chapman, who had an obsession with the book, murdered John Lennon. Also, John Hinckley, who attempted to assassinate our former president, Ronald Reagan, was thought to be obsessed with the book as well. There are many other people whose murders or attempted murders are thought to be connected to The Catcher in the Rye, such as Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination on John F. Kennedy, and Robert John Bardo , the man who killed Rebecca Schaeffer. Holden Caulfield might have some criminal potential as well, having similar traits of killers. Mark David Chapman was absolutely obsessed with The Catcher in the Rye. He saw the book as his inspiration to kill …show more content…
Kennedy, was known to be obsessed with many books, such as Mein Kampf, Animal Farm, and The Catcher in the Rye. The novel was found on a raid of his home. He has never admitted to being motivated by the book to kill JFK, but there is speculation because the novel was known to be his favorite book, as he read it often. Robert John Bardo, Rebecca Schaeffer’s killer, was found with The Catcher in the Rye when he killed her. He was a long time stalker of Schaeffer, obsessing over her for a few years. When he saw her in bed with another man in one of her films, he was furious and thought that was a good enough reason to kill her. He stalked her until she was left unattended alone in her home, and killed her. He then threw his copy of the novel on her roof, and fled the scene. It is still unclear why he had the book, but there is a strong possibility he was influenced by the book. Which is why Bardo brought the novel with him when he killed Rebecca …show more content…
Holden could be a murderer because he has all the common traits murderers have, such as alcoholism, having fantasy worlds, loneliness, social awkwardness, and sexually stressful events during