Take the time to look and talk to people, and I can guarantee almost everyone would say they have at least one poem, book, movie, etc. that has greatly impacted their life. Whether the source influenced their lives in a positive or negative way, it’s amazing how people are so greatly impacted. The books The Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Twilight, are all great examples of novels that have really impacted many people’s lives.
The Catcher in the Rye had its biggest impact on the life of a man named Mark David Chapman. He related his own life to the story of Holden Caulfield’s. He was once quoted for saying, “I don’t think I ever hugged my father. He never told me he loved me. And he never said he was sorry – one of those guys” (Chapman). Holden didn’t have the strongest relationship with his mother and father, as did Chapman. The book actually influenced Chapman to take the life of someone he was obsessed with, John Lennon. He would recite lines from the book and sign things as if he himself were Holden Caulfield. He believed that Lennon had the secret to where the ducks go. When he was arrested, he was found on the sidewalk reading The Catcher in the Rye
Next, Harry Potter! A young man completely obsessed with Harry Potter, he states, “I’m wasting my high school career away with Harry Potter” (Castlequill147). Unlike Chapman, the series isn’t taking over his life quite as seriously. Although he does make and sell wands, he doesn’t attempt to perform magic. He doesn’t have much of a social life for all he does it read and watch the Harry Potter books and movies. We may not think that this has a positive impact on his life, but he enjoys it, which relates to Chapman, but it doesn’t go as far as hearing people in his head and wanting to kill a person you are obsessed with. Not to say it doesn’t affect his life at all, because he has no social life.
Then there’s Star Trek. This one takes a turn for the better. Here is a man who has been positively affected by the series. He explains, “…Looking back Star Trek has had an influence on my life both in terms of my interest in science, and in my moral values” (Edmonds
Last, but not least: Twilight. The life of a young teenage girl is affected by the books. She admits that, “In fact whenever my friends say that the books aren’t real I argue that they are!”(Anonymous). Her story is similar to Chapman’s because she believes she is a vampire while Chapman thinks he’s Holden, which they are not. Their lives have both been influenced in a way that in their minds, they are something that they really aren’t. This girls obsession is a bit more unbelievable because most people don’t believe that vampires even exist.
As I mentioned earlier everyone is in some way affected by some piece of work. I actually spoke to my dad and he told me that a movie that influenced him was The Godfather. When I asked him why he didn’t really have a reason, but he said just because it really emotionally left him looking at the world a little differently. It really is amazing, but could be scary, how works like this can really impact one’s life.
Works Cited
Edmonds, Michael. “Star Trek - Inspiration and Obsession.” SciBlogs. Science Media Centre, 15 May 2011. Web. 29 Dec. 2011. <http:/sciblogs.co.nz/molecular-matters/2011/05/15/star-trek-inspiration-and-obsession/>.
“I am Obsessed with Twilight.” Experience Project. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http:/www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Obsessed-With-Twilight/789871>.
“It Even Worries me a Little Bit..” Experience Project. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 Dec. 2011. <http:/www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Obsessed-With-Harry-Potter/1968337>.
Stashower, Daniel. “On First Looking Into Chpaman`s Holden:Speculations on a Murder.” The American Scholar. Phi Beta Kappa, 2012. Web. 1 Jan. 2011. <http://theamericanscholar.org/on-first-looking-into-chapmans-holden-speculations-on-a-murder/>.
