Columbine, by Dave Cullen is a non-fiction book documenting the horrific massacre which took place in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999. Not only does the writer give great detail about the shooting itself, he also gives and in depth look into the lives of the killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and their victims. The focus of this book is for the author to attempt to bring to light what really happened and hopefully gain better understanding as to why it all took place. Cullen, a journalist, begins an extensive nine year research in order to achieve awareness of the happenings before, during and after this tragic event. Entries from the perpetrators personal journals, stories from the ones who witnessed the shootings first hand, countless interviews from the victim’s families, as well as multiple other pieces of information give the reader an extremely up close and personal surrounding Columbine.
This discovery also brought light to the bullying aspect. The boys were in fact not motivated to kill due to bullying, but instead motivated by their mental state. Later in the book, Cullen explains, “‘Psychopaths are capable of behavior that normal people find not only horrible but baffling. ’”(239) Cullen collected all evidence regarding the massacre and compiled it into the book Columbine to help not only the victims and their families, but also the rest of the world make sense of the massacre that took place on April 20, 1999.
Dave Cullen is an experienced journalist with a background in investigative reporting. He brings this expertise to writing the book "Columbine." His extensive research for the book, including interviews with survivors, families, and law enforcement officials, demonstrates his commitment to delivering an accurate retell of the tragedy. The topic of the book "Columbine” revolves around the tragic school shooting of the Columbine High School that occurred on April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado. Cullen goes into the motivations, backgrounds, and actions of the shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, while also examining the broader societal and cultural implications of the tragedy.
The massacre at Columbine High School in 1999 was, at the time, one of the worst school shootings to have taken place in the United States. In the months and years that followed this tragedy, discussions about public safety, the victims, and, most importantly, the killers ensued in the mass media. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, best friends and killers in the Columbine massacre, ended the lives of 13 people and changed the lives of countless others. When looking back on this tragedy, it is not difficult for people to realize that Eric Harris was clearly psychopathic. However, his best friend Dylan, his partner in the killings, did not seem to share the same desire to kill.
Most people believe that it was because of his psychopathic nature mixed with his hate for the school. In his journal, he often wrote about how he hated the school and jocks that inhabited it. Eric and Dylan got along well, and it is believed that Eric fed off of Dylan’s depressive and homicidal state, which only fed the fire of Eric’s hatred. Dylan Klebold was a quiet student at Columbine High, and did not hang out with many other people other than Eric and his other friend. Dylan’s motives were easier to figure out than Eric’s.
The school shooting at Columbine high school was one of the bloodiest and atrocious school shootings in United States history. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris devised a plan to inflict as much terror as possible in their school as well as the rest of the world. Even though their original plan of detonating propane bombs in the school cafeteria failed, these two improvised and still proceeded with the massacre. Columbine was never about killing mankind; Columbine was a quest to ensure both killers would reach widespread notoriety.
When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold terrorized Columbine High School nearly twenty years ago, the shooting shocked the nation. However, as the media incorrectly reported- the attack on Columbine High School was not an intended school shooting, but rather an elaborate terror plot with the hopes of killing hundreds of people. It had been decades since terror of this magnitude had occurred on school grounds, and the first one that had occurred in the dawn of mass media. Never before had the media become so up close and personal with the victims, to the point where they were able to talk to the students while the shooting was happening. But with this new sense of power and responsibility to quickly inform the public and develop conclusions, danger
Dylan Klebold was an American mass murderer and a spree killer (Fox & DeLateur 2014). On April 20th, 1999, he killed people and wounded others at Columbine High School, Colorado. Klebold had many knives and firearms. He was in his twelfth grade, and after carrying out the massacre, he committed suicide in the school library (Fox & DeLateur 2014). Klebold was active in school play productions.
They must have had something click inside of them that made them want to kill everyone else. Dylan always mentioned in his journals of a girl that he loved. He never spoke to her but stated that he had lost her. He hated her for it and he lost the will to live. That could be one reason Dylan was willing to shoot up the school.
At 11:19AM, the boys entered the school. They planted bombs which, thankfully, failed to go off. Here, Harris and Klebold began their vicious killing spree. The killers mainly targeted athletes, minorities, and Christians. Eric and Dylan killed 13 people (12 students and 1 teacher) and wounded 20 people before killing themselves in the library at about 12:00PM (history.com).
The shooting related to many sociological theories specifically the theory or containment, and the social bonding theory. With these theories we can get a better idea of what causes the boys to commit such a crime, we are able to look at what went on in their lives leading up to it and match theorist ideas to it to discover why it might have happened. Though the motives may never be certain using theories can help us look at different reason to find answers. Columbine was a huge tragedy, but through it the country has grown and been able to prevent similar mass shootings from
On April 20, 1999, two disturbed teenage boys Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris began a killing rampage at Columbine High School in the suburban town of Littleton, Colorado. This was considered one of the worst school shootings to occur at that time. In the morning of April 20, before noon, the two juveniles had killed 13 people to include 12 students and 1 teacher; they also wounded another 23 people before turning the guns on themselves. This event would change the theories as to why school shootings would occur. (History)
The Columbine shooting took place on April 20, 1999. Two boys from the high school shot and killed many people, including one teacher. They had been planning the attack for months. They took innocent lives. Many questions have been asked about this and the one mostly asked was “Why did they do it?”.
The Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999 was a catastrophe of epic proportions, some argue that nothing could have been done, but with the advancements of technology and research on the internet people can see how badly Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were bullied and harassed, people can also learn how if signs like internet posts and obsessions with weapons were taken seriously this horrific event could have been prevented. Historical Context Who you you blame if your child shot someone, would you blame him, maybe yourself, but what if terrible things happened at school that no one took notice to. The two boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, fall into this third category. They were bullied endlessly by
Dylan Klebold was the exact opposite. He was hotheaded but depressive and suicidal. He blamed himself for his problems. Dylan grew up in a loving household that was completely gun free. He wasn’t even allowed to play with toy guns as a child.
