A Tale of Peace and Inssanity

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Song lyrics, classic literature and films. Can such things be responsible for personal demise let alone homicide? How can a person seem so “normal” at certain periods in time, yet all the while, seriously mentally ill? Mark Chapman is one of these people. Throughout his unstable life, he lived the status quo while teetering on the lines of insanity; however, the silence of others eventually contributed to the death of John Lennon at the hands of Chapman.

Mark Chapman had a tumultuous childhood. His father, David, was in the Air Force and his mother, Diane, was a nurse. He had a little sister, Susan, who was seven years younger than him. The family seemed normal from the outside. Tony Adams, the director of the YMCA in Mark’s hometown, said, “I’d say it was a very happy family and Mark was a happy, well-adjusted boy.”(Gaines?) Little did Tony or anyone else know that Mark’s family was actually very dysfunctional. David beat his wife which contributed to Mark’s serious mental health issues. He also struggled to be accepted by his peers. Mark wasn’t good at sports and other kids called him degrading names. Between his unsteady home life and his steady position as an outsider, Mark retreated to his own mind- a nation, ruled by him. He had followers in his mind, “little people,” which adored him and eventually started to influence his choices. Mark states:

I used to fantasize that I was a king, and I had all these Little People around me and that they lived in the walls. … And that I was their hero and was in the paper every day and I was on TV every day, their TV, and that I was important. … They all kind of worshipped me, you know. It was like I could do no wrong. (McGunagle)

If he was in a bad mood, ...

... middle of paper ...

...scent into Madness : People.com." People.com : The #1 Celebrity Site for breaking news, celebrity pictures and star style. N.p., 22 July 1981. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. .

McGunagle, Fred. "Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon — Chapman's Statement — Crime Library on truTV.com." truTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality.. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. .

Partridge, Elizabeth. John Lennon: all I want is the truth : a biography. New York, NY: Viking, 2005. Print.

"Yoko Ono Opposes Parole for John Lennon's Killer Mark David Chapman." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. .

MLA formatting by BibMe.org.

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