Memoir Historical Investigation for John Lennon, the Beatles and beyond By Matilda Lemstrom
Primary Source
Here in this picture John Lennon is showing is affection of world peace by showing a symbol that means world peace. I chose this primary source because the photograph really shows how much John Lennon cared about the world. This photograph is connected to the book because the author talked a lot about what he did to help the environment and how much he wanted peace.
Secondary Source This is an excerpt from a website with an article called John Lennon. There were many details about him but I chose the moment he died. On December 8th 1980, Lennon was shot dead as he was going into his home, by a man named Mark David Chapman who was mentally ill. Even though he was ill, Chapman was still prosecuted for murder, because he killed Lennon. Chapman pled guilty to the murder the next year, and is still in prison today. He admitted later he was jealous of Lennon's fame and success, while his own life disappointed him. Chapman thought that killing Lennon would give his own life more meaning. He is always refused for parole, and is infamous (hated by many people). Fans all over the world mourned Lennon's death. It made them feel that a special part of their lives was gone. Many met in New York's Central Park, near where Lennon and Ono lived, to say their goodbyes. Some played recordings of Lennon's music. Politicians and celebrities everywhere were sorry Lennon had died, even if they disliked him, because his music meant so much to so many people. Radio stations in the Soviet Union, where rock music was rarely allowed to be played, gave an hour over to Beatles recordings. When I read these paragraphs I finally got the right information on how he died and it gave me full facts in every specific way. After I read the book this information was just a little different than the details in the book, the article made more sense than the book‟s details. I think someone else would love this book because it has a lot of very good information, and for the fact that it‟s based on the one and only John Lennon, the talented and inspirational man who was once shot by a fan who had mental problems. “That night, as Lennon and Ono stepped out of their limousine, Chapman followed them toward the door. He pulled his five-shot gun and fired repeatedly, the first two bullets striking Lennon in the back. Lennon spun and staggered into the lobby, where he fell. Even though the police came immediately Lennon could not be resuscitated and died in a nearby hospital.” The book has reasons to be enjoyable. When you read you basically understand everything and it‟s a lot easier when the book has boldness and information that is an actually interesting enough for me to continue reading. “The nearsighted teenager leaned into the bedroom mirror as he worked on the jellyroll he called his hair. “I had no idea about doing music as a way of life until rock n‟ roll hit me. John would remember “It wasn‟t until „Heartbreak hotel‟ by Elvis Presley that I got into it.” So basically John Lennon was an inspirational and musical man who was once part of the Beetles and also a solo artist, but on a dangerous night he got shot buy a fan who had mental problems.
Too Much love for Lennon
Another day arrived from the back of my neighbour‟s house. I opened my rested eyes when the sun almost blinded me .. When I was fully awake everything was blurry, all the colours of my room where somehow mixed together. I finally got on my feet and grabbed my glasses from the counter near my John Lennon CD collection. I was a big fan of him. He differed from all the other artists out there. I really liked Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan, but to me John Lennon's lyrics were so precious that it was hard to stop listening to his music.
"Ben! You better get downstairs for breakfast or you‟re going to miss the bus! It's the first day of school, common!” Ugh, my sister Olivia. She always tells me what to do; I'm like her lab rat or whatever. When I'm all dressed for school, I make my way downstairs into the kitchen. My mom is not the world‟s best cook. The only good meal she can actually make is an omelette, and we only have that every Sunday morning. Today she made pancakes.. Burnt pancakes. I made a disguised face and looked away from my mother so she couldn‟t see how much I wanted to spit the tiny piece of pancake out of my mouth, but I still managed to smile to my mom and say “Wow mom, these pancakes really taste amazing”. When Olivia and I were on our way to the bus stop, I was listening to the Beetles. Somehow I felt like putting my fist up and singing along to the phenomenal #2 hit single “We can work it out.”
“Try to see it my way. Do I have to keep on talking till I can‟t go on? While you see it your way, run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone. We can work it out, we can work it out.” I had so much confidence I could scream from the top of my lungs and aspect everyone staring at me and thinking I was crazy. When the bus arrives at Woodside high school, the school I go to of course, I spot my best friend Jeff waving at me like he just came from a mental hospital. I struggle my way down the stairs feeling ashamed of having a friend like Jeff. “What are you doing here? I specifically told you to wait for me in Biology not in the centre of the school entry!” “I‟m sorry; I couldn‟t help but think you‟d be the first one to see my haircut”! “I can‟t believe you actually got a haircut that looks exactly like John Lennon‟s haircut. It was just a dare”! “It was? I thought you were serious! I mean, I know how much you love him, it made sense to me to try.” “Well, whatever, you look cool anyway, let‟s go to biology before it‟s too late”.
“Okay students you will be receiving a quiz of the human body, this is not graded.” Mr. Smith announced. He turned the radio on and leaned back to his comfy chair made out of cow skin. Surprisingly, Hey Jude by the Beatles came on the radio at the perfect time. I couldn‟t help but get out of my chair and sing along to the amazing song. I knew all the lyrics and notes to the song. It felt like the song just jumped out of me naturally, but apparently I received detention because during my so called impressing moment, I attempted to play the drums with 2 thermometers and broke them, but it was all worth it.
When school was over I made my way to detention. It was very boring. Mr. Tasker the Math teacher had no taste in music. He was an over aged fellow who only listened to classical music, and by classical music I mean Beethoven. After an hour of torture my mom comes and picks me up from school. “You had to do it didn‟t you?” “Mom, you don‟t know what it feels like to be so dedicated to an inspirational person, and I consider you never will”. “That‟s sweet dear but because of that and this conversation, you‟ve received a one way ticket to your room Mr! You‟re grounded for 2 weeks”! “What? No, mom. I need my CD player; it‟s the only thing that can keep me satisfied”. “No honey, I think your ADHD is kicking in”. “Wow mom, talk about selfish”. I rush my way into my room making sure my door slams hard enough to almost break. When the clock struck 11:00pm my life changed before my eyes, this is the moment that caused every bit of my life to get damaged. I could feel my body shaking by the minute.
“John Lennon was hit by several bullets as he and his wife Yoko Ono was returning from a recording studio. Police said Lennon was shot by David Chaplin after an argument over an autograph “. I could hear my heart beating through my veins, my ears, everywhere. I fell to the ground when my eyes start to slowly close as my life ended before my eyes. Or so it seemed. “Honey it‟s time to go---“. She looked at me like I was a lost puppy trying to find its way home.
“Olivia! Call 911! Something happened to Ben! I was still awake but I felt slightly uncomfortable in a weird way. 10 minutes later the ambulance came. They lifted me up and took me into the back of the ambulance. In the ambulance, there was a man who gave me in of those masks that breathed for me. Eventually I had a panic attack, but my depression was taking over me, I couldn‟t think straight. Whenever there was a hard decision in my mind I could see a path leading me through all the depression now there‟s a faded grey path that has a danger sign next to it. “Hey, I got a new haircut. I didn‟t want to remind you of you know who, it‟s the least I can do”. I took a glimpse of Jeff and surprisingly he got a Bob Dylan haircut. “You look great, thanks for doing this for me, I appreciate it.” When I got home I went to my room and put on my tuxedo that I had at my parents wedding. I wrote a note behind my John Lennon mini poster. Then I quietly stumbled my way down into the basement where I tied a rope to the hook on the attacked to the ceiling. Maybe this was the right thing to do. I can‟t live my life in depression, that‟s just sad and tiring. I took a chair and put the rope over my head. 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..0.
Wright, David K. John Lennon: The Beatles and beyond. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1996. Print. Hoenke, Justin. "John Lennon: In His Life." EBSCOhost. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com>. Collins, Jim. "December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died." EBSCOhost. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://web.ebscohost.com>.