Subject: john lennon and catcher--just say know
From: Will Hochman (hochman@southernct.edu)
Date: Thu Apr 25 2002 - 10:09:56 EDT
Dear Bananafish, When this strand came up, I had decided not to
participate. It's just wrong to connect a murderous, insane person
with a great artist or great artwork. Sure, there was a lot of press
about how one person interpreted a novel and let it drive him to
murder or whatever, but the thing that bothers me is that too many of
us want to think about how one particular novel may be a catalyst for
a murder when the truth is that I wouldn't trust Chapman to read an
aspirin label well, much less a book. This drive to connect Catcher
to murder is just a sad, small, literary footnote. It is not, as,
Holden would say, 'a very big deal.'
Last night I was the keynote speaker at an awards ceremony for prize
winning middle school and high school writers and their parents. When
I asked the audience of approximately 200 people how many had read
Catcher, I watched at least 75% of the people raise their hands and I
can still see many of the young folks shoot their hands up high and
fast with a sense of pride and fondness that should make us really
think about what Catcher can mean to most people. I may be making
more out of this quick image than is right, but my interpretation of
that moment is strong and deep. I can still see a few young writers
arch their backs and reach their arms and hands in the air with a
grasping confidence that said, yes, I know and love this book...yes,
I am proud that I read this book...yes, I know Holden as a gentle
soul who can show us how to love people and he's even able to help us
understand our awkward, adolescent selves a little better than we
could without him.
The hands in the air that I saw didn't have guns in them. There
wasn't murder in their hearts, and the only insanity or confusion
they may have suffered was in applauding me at the end of my remarks.
I just dislike it very much when Catcher is connected with murdering,
and I hope this email changes the strand to thinking about how
Catcher affects real readers, will
-- Will HochmanAssociate Professor of English Southern Connecticut State University 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515 203 392 5024
http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html
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