Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

starkcont t1_ixq4jkn wrote

Reply to comment by destinoob in I love The Catcher in the Rye by zak_zman

Oh my god. This is my all time favourite book and my husband just told me yesterday that the guy who killed John Lennon was reading the catcher in the rye!!

4

web_head91 t1_ixqlvo1 wrote

Yes, he famously had a copy of it on him and was sat down reading it while waiting for the police to come arrest him. When asked his name, he replied, "Holden Caulfield".

I disagree with suggestions I've seen that this book can act as a catalyst for people to act out violently; to me that's the same as the lazy argument that movies and video games cause violence. It's always easier to blame entertainment and surface level stuff than to actually look at the root cause and address it.

3

starkcont t1_ixrczpl wrote

I feel the comment has been taken on a wrong context. This was more of a joke than the suggestion.

1

Sole_Meanderer t1_ixq5p7k wrote

That’s funny. John lennon and holden caulfield had some things in common.

1

generalized_disdain t1_ixqekb0 wrote

Both completely unlikable?

1

Sole_Meanderer t1_ixqf2x7 wrote

Lol yeah suppose so. But for the same reason, not that it’s an excuse. Holden sounded like me when i was a child, full of generalized disdain.

2

destinoob t1_ixu1z7o wrote

And the guy who shot Reagan, and maybe Lee Harvey Oswald, plus a few more over the years. Could be just coincidence, could be that they were all struggling with stuff like Holden so identified with the character. Probably a bit of both.

It's a great book. It's not one of my desert island picks though. But I find it interesting that it has been linked to so many things.

1