John Lennon's murder & The Catcher In The Rye

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.

A John Lennon book features in this equation too:

In spring 1980 Chapman had borrowed Anthony Fawcett's "John Lennon - One Day At A Time" from the Library, and read it over and over again.

The super-rich lifestyle of this so called "working class hero" shocked and appalled Chapman. He was outraged by Lennon's phoniness, angered by Lennon's spending sprees and his seemingly arbitrary accumulation of material possessions.

Television....newspapers...radio...magazines....the books he read...the art works he loved....the music he listened to...all these were giving Mark David Chapman the signals he craved.

And faced with this overwhelming array of signs and signals, some of which he had been waiting for, some of which were new and sensational, Chapman made up his mind to board the plane to New York, seek out John Lennon, and kill him.

Remember....I have spent years researching this murder and this website represents only a small sample of my findings.

Find out more....

My books about John Lennon's murder contain the FULL story, told in an original and informative way.

"Two Spirits Dancing" is a 'novelised' version of the events. It is a full length, 100,000 word book that takes you into the parallel worlds of the killer and his victim. It is available as a PDF ebook or as a 320 page paperback.

find out more...

"Through The Mirror Go Round" is a fully illustrated and factual account of the murder, including all the images, art work and album covers that are such an amazing part of these tragic events.

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