The Catcher In The Rye: The Impact Of John Lennon's Life

After listening to the song, I can automatically tell what the message of the song is that Lennon is portraying, and that is world peace. Lennon does an amazing job establishing his credibility in this song, thus creating credibility within his audience, credibility is part of Ethos. Throughout his musical career right up until his death in 1980, Lennon was heavily involved in peace activities. During his musical career he was part of the world famous Beatles, and this gained him world fame and allowed for his messages to be heard across the world. Lennon created even more Ethos for himself in a controversial album, where he posed naked with his wife, Yoko Ono, in there bed. This showed his fan base and the world that he was truly devoted to peace and love. Without his famous involvement in the Beatles, Lennon would never have gained his spotlight in the world allowing for his messages of peace and love to be heard. His ethos was within his people, not where he got his ideas. Lennon felt what the world felt, and thus his credibility.

Although examining art requires a huge knowledge, my intention in this essay is to analyze a piece of art, besides lyrics and the context, I’m going to examine it by following the steps presented by Alain de Botton.

Mark David Chapman was absolutely obsessed with The Catcher in the Rye. He saw the book as his inspiration to kill

On November 30, 1994, Tupac entered a Time Square studio accompanied by Stretch, one of his close friends, and his manager, Freddie Moore. There was a black man sitting on the desk in the entrance way of the office building. The man got up from the desk as two other men walked through the door. The three men followed him to the elevators, drew their guns and yelled, "Give up the jewelry, and get on the floor!" Instead, Tupac went for one of the guns, during his struggle, he was shot five times throughout his body, including two shots to the head. The robbers got away with $40,000 in

Hinckley Jr.’s first step, like Travis Bickle, to win over Jodie Foster’s heart was to get his hands on firearms. Once he received these guns, his objective when to follow and kill Jimmy Carter during the 1979 presidential campaign. While following him to the Nashville airport, where Carter had one of his campaign stops, he was fortunately stopped by the authorities and arrested for the possession of firearms.

John Tyler, age 28, was shot and killed with a handgun, fired by Jeff “Ace” Johnson, on July 16th. The shooting occurred after an argument between Jeff (age 20 and a member of the Cobras street gang) and Jerry Knight (age 22, member of the Jukers street gang and cousin of the deceased). The accused may be convicted of either murder (the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought) or voluntary manslaughter (the unlawful killing of a human being without malice). After reviewing all the facts of the case, I have come to the conclusion that Jeff “Ace” Johnson is guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

The Beatles essentially had a profound influence on America, the world’s leading force for the music industry. Because no other British music group had succeeded in America before, the Beatles were apprehensive, nevertheless gaining large renown and adulation from millions nation-wide. The Beatles also brought a new culture, a new view of music to America. They essentially took on the role of revolutionizing rock music through their original, creative compositions which spoke of love, peace, and freedom and defied the conformist society of the 1950s which restricted these controversial topics and opinions in the media. Their music captivated the world by instilling a regard for reconciliation in our hearts, and giving hope to those struggling from the pressures of Vietnam and the Cold War, racial discrimination, and depression. They left an unparalleled legacy of delightful music, influenced the sixties culture through their distinct qualities, and encouraged those to forsake violence and live in harmony with other human beings.

On October 31, 1963, A Cleveland Police Department Detective witnessed two men, John Terry and Richard Chilton, doing what he believed to be casing a store in an imminent attempt to commit robbery. The officer, Martin McFadden, performed a pat-down search of the two men whom he testified in court “did not look right.” McFadden said that when he approached the men, having suspected that they were about to commit a robbery, felt they might be armed and fearing for his life, immediately turned them around and patted down their clothing. Consequently, McFadden found a gun on one of the men, Terry, who was arrested, charged with, and convicted of carrying a concealed weapon.

He yearns to keep their innocence and prevent them from becoming ‘phony’ adults. Similarly, Chapman felt the need to preserve the innocence of John Lennon. It is speculated that Chapman assassinated John Lennon for the sole purpose of preserving his innocence forever. It is plausible that Chapman feared Lennon could have turned into someone like Holden’s brother, D.B. Caulfield. Salinger states, “Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute” (4). It is clear that D.B. lost all of his innocence and is now considered, by Holden, a ‘phony’. Chapman’s murder of John Lennon may have emanated from the impulse to preserve his innocence, in an effort to prevent a situation like D.B.’s from

Several minutes after the shooting, a local police officer discovered a Remington 30-06 rifle along with a wealth of physical evidence, as follows: an overnight bag containing assorted toiletries, two unopened cans of beer, a portable radio with the number “00416” scratched on its side, (later discovered to be James Earl Ray’s inmate number while a prisoner at Missouri State Penitentiary), a pair of pliers with “Romage Hardware” stamped on the handle, a Memphis newspaper dated April 4, 1968, a brown paper bag on which “Homestead” was printed and men’s underwear. Also found was a cardboard box that contained Bushnell binoculars and a paper bag and receipt from York Arms Company dated April 4, 1968, along with cartridge and some ammunition.

The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspired a generation of young adults across the globe to look at life from their perspective.

INTRODUCTION “Everybody loves you when you’re six feet in the ground,” was once said by John Lennon. “The finest day I ever had was when tomorrow never came,” - Kurt. Though they died in the midst of their career, John Lennon and Kurt Cobain amazed people with their successes, obstacles, music.

“Working Class Hero” is a song made for the class split back in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The song is written by John Lennon, who was one of the singers in the old and legendary band, The Beatles, with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. He recorded the song between the 26th of September and the 6th of October; the song was though first released in 1971 in the United States and in UK in 1975. The song was on his first post-Beatles album “Imagine”. John Lennon was a working class hero himself. At least that is what he says in the end of the song; “If you want to be a hero, well, just follow me.”

Social criticism examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in which it is written or received. Keeping this definition in mind, it is necessary to understand the political, cultural and economic environment in which Lennon the above famous words.

John Lennon’s song “Imagine” was released in October 1971. Imagine was the most successful single that Lennon produced and is perhaps the best song in music history for its strong message. He wrote this song during the climax of the Vietnam War as an anti-war song. At this time in history peace movements were popular because of all the wars happening that involved the country and its people. His song is timeless as its message still applies today. It is true that everyone wants peace, but this picture Lennon illustrates is a fantasy. The song Imagine is a fantasy imagination of John Lennon that pushes the ideology of communism through its resemblance to an unrealistic society.