CATCHER IN THE RYE: LITERATURE’S INFLUENCE ON SERIAL KILLERS

the belief that it contains a “communist plot.” This was the time of the Red Scare Era in the 50s, a time of fear against communism in America:

President Woodrow Wilson's World War I pledge to make the world safe for democracy was severely compromised on the home front by the Red Scare of 1919–1920 With its xenophobia, attacks on labor, radical witch hunts, and insistence on one hundred percent Americanism, the red scare had deep roots in the American past, but it also triggered a growing American paranoia about an increasingly dangerous and chaotic world ("Red Scare").

Some believed that Holden and The Catcher in the Rye, in general, were influencing young minds to rebel against the social order and the “natural” way of life in America

As aforementioned, Holden Caulfield struggles with potential issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, most commonly known as PTSD, and depression following the death of his brother, Allie, who died of Leukemia when Holden was a young child. Holden copes with these issues through substance abuse Multiple times throughout the book, he is found at bars, drinking alcohol, or smoking He also contemplates taking his own life: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've to do it too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed” (Salinger 136). Even in this dark moment, though, he expresses a desire to make sure that even in death, he is still protecting the children

Throughout the novel, Holden expresses that he does not fit in anywhere, feeling alienated and isolated. He is unable to fit into the expectations that society has brought upon him. This is why so many people, especially certain criminals, have related to Holden. They all have felt like outcasts with no place in society.

One of the many assassins said to be influenced by The Catcher in the Rye is John Hinckley Jr , who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton, where he would give a speech. Hinckley tried to kill the President to impress the actress Jodie Foster, as he became obsessed with Jodie after watching the movie, Taxi Driver. Taxi Driver, released in 1976 and directed by Martin Scorsese, is a movie about a mentally ill insomniac named Travis Bickle, played by Robert DeNero In the movie, Travis becomes a taxi driver who drives at night After a while of roaming the streets at night, he becomes increasingly disturbed as he watches the violence and filth that run amuck in the city. He begins to feel a need to cleanse the city and save the world, he even plots to assassinate a presidential candidate, as well as save a child prostitute that he meets, played by Jodie Foster John Hinckley Jr proved obsessed with Taxi Driver, watching it numerous times and becoming infatuated with Jodie Foster as well. John saw how highly the movie was regarded and he wanted to impress Jodie and get the infamy that he thought he deserved. Both the plots of Taxi Driver and The Catcher in the Rye are extremely similar While Travis takes his ideals to a much more violent approach, he and Holden have the same concepts and beliefs about society Salinger’s novel was ultimately found in Hinckley’s hotel room after the crime (Johnson).

When John Hinckley Jr. was tried for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, “‘suffering from a major depressive