There appears to be a dichotomous relationship between the field of literature and the notion of crime. Although these fields have been argued to be inextricably linked – there remains a key question surrounding whether crime inspires literature, or literature inspires crime.
Firstly, crime can be seen as a factor that inspires literature within many texts. One way to evidence this is via Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange – a dystopian novel, dealing with the entwinement of youth culture and delinquency. Burgess’ novel can be seen as a central work, demonstrating the crossovers between crime and the creation of literature, specifically through his coined term “ultraviolence.”
For example, Burgess has stated that “the novel’s inspiration was his first wife Lynne’s beating by a gang.” This evidences the idea that literature is a product of crime, with the text being animated by the very crime that it presents in its content.
This can be seen through the ways in which violent crime is pressed into every crease of the novel, allowing Burgess’ “ultraviolence” to be posited as a core theme. This is particularly evident within the initial characterisation of the protagonist, Alex, believing that “the sweetest and most heavenly activities partake in some measure of violence.” Therefore, the entwinement of violent crime with literature within Burgess’ novel reflects the violent crime relevant to his life before publishing. This evidences the idea that literature is a product of, and inspired by, crime.
On the other end of the spectrum, literature can be evidenced as inspiring crime. One novel at the centre of this debate is Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Present in several murder cases, the most notable being the murder of John Lennon, this text seems to underpin the ideology that literature is inherently crime-causing. Specifically, Lennon’s murderer – Mark David Chapman – was said to be highly inspired by the novel’s protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Chapman identified with Caulfield to the extent of wanting to change his name to be the same as the protagonist’s, and saw himself as “the catcher in the rye of his generation.” This is what motivated his killing, citing Caulfield’s dislike for “phonies”, causing the protagonist to “hate everybody in the world” as the reason for his act – killing Lennon “because he was famous.” Overall, Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye can be used to evidence the other side of the literature and crime dichotomy, implying that literature inspires crime.
Crime and literature are both inherent and entrenched within our culture. Despite the ubiquitous nature of both of these institutions, the relationship between them remains blurred. Does crime inspire literature, or does literature inspire crime?
Perhaps this question reflects the nature of literature itself, where no individual can be indefinitely proven in their views. Thousands of arguments, and evidence to back them up, remain scattered throughout the literary field and in the minds of critics. It is our job, as students and consumers of literature, to discern this – and discover where we may lie amongst this spectrum.
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