Columbine Book Report (1-100)
Columbine by Dave Cullen (pages 1-100) I. Summary Columbine High School (CHS) is a suburban public school located in Jefferson County, Colorado. Frank DeAngelis, a middle aged man who had previously coached football and baseball for sixteen years at Columbine, was the principal of the close-knit high school. He was loved by his students and admired by his staff for his ability to address his students as mature adults. The student body looked up to him and appreciated his truthfulness and lack of sugarcoating when serious topics were being discussed.
Three days before prom an assembly was called to strengthen the awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Instead of just lecturing the students Mr. DeAngelis used his own life experiences to teach and guide the students along the safe paths that still allowed for occasional goofing off. The author, Dave Cullen, then jerks the focus of the book to the teenage boys who would later kill twelve students, one teacher, and severely wound twenty-three of their peers.
Eric Harris and Dlyan Klebold were the typical high school students, albeit they had some distinctive quirks that set them aside from the rest of their peers. Eric Harris was a psychopath; this fact allowed him to commit a terrible crime without feeling empathy or remorse for his victims. However, on the outside he was anything but antisocial (or criminal). Eric smoke, drank, dated—all within a close circle of friends. Yet, he was excellent at manipulation. His lies were so finely tuned that even his ex-military father suspected nothing. Eric received a slew of A’s from his teachers; every single one of them considered him a “good kid”.
No one ever suspected that anything as devastating or horrifying could erupt from such a well-rounded kid from a nice family. This is why Dave Cullen’s description of Dylan Klebold who “tried extremely hard to emulate Eric” was not mistaken. Although Dylan was considerably smarter than Eric, Eric seemed to have a hold on Dylan’s authentically shy demeanor. Dylan, being more self-conscious, latched onto Eric’s strong personality that radiated confidence. Moreover, Dylan was suicidally depressed, which left him vulnerable to Eric’s manipulative ways. II. Analysis
Understanding who the perpetrators were behind the Columbine shooting continues to be the most compelling theme dictated throughout the entirety of the first one hundred pages of Dave Cullen’s masterpiece Columbine. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were both unbelievably smart teens who had shared an impossible friendship held together by a mutual dislike of society. Although sharing this bond, by no means were they alike—which is why their association with each other astounds investigators to this day. Neither of the boys came from broken families or had diagnosed issues that could have raised a red flag to anyone paying close enough attention.
Eric had a small police record for blowing up illegal fireworks, but that was the extent of his “criminal” records. Dylan was even less on the (philosophical) radar. He was naturally quiet, yet more aware of his surroundings. If Dylan had not known Eric, it is guaranteed that the damage he did would only be to himself. Dylan never would have taken the lives of other people if he had succeeded in taking his own life first. This is thoroughly discussed by the author for a significant amount of each chapter. Eric’s initial influence on Dylan drastically increases when they start making plans for the massacre.
The now copious amounts of time the boys spent together deepened the influence they had on each other, but Dylan seemed overwhelmed throughout the entirety of the author’s writing. Dylan’s clothing style, taste in music, taste in girls, and his general interests appeared to mirror Eric’s as progression through the hundred page section was made. Dylan inevitably lost what little he had of his individuality. III. Personal Opinion I am thoroughly enjoying Dave Cullen’s Columbine. This book took ten years to write; I completely understand why he waited and appreciate the time he took to methodically research the Columbine Massacre.
The way Cullen embeds his research into a fast paced storyline is flawless and it continues to inspire me to learn and use the same technique. By clearly writing “But nothing separated the boys’ personalities like a run-in with authority. Dylan would be hyperventilating, Eric calmly calculating. Eric’s cool head steered them clear of most trouble…”, Cullen clearly illustrates subtle personality differences in a way that also depicts what kind of lives they led. I’m not saying that run-ins with the police happened frequently (it’s actually quite on the contrary), however the clarity is refreshing.
A reader can move along without tripping over words that are weakly juxtaposed together. One aspect of Dave Cullen’s writing intrigues me more than anything. The way he smoothly transitions between the past and present allows for careful plot lines to thoroughly develop into an interesting piece of careful, intelligent research that includes incredible diction. In a passage on page nineteen Cullen writes “Most nights included an open-mike period, where you could watch an aging drunk strum ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ segue into the Gilligan’s Island theme, and forget the words. , Cullen’s dry tone brings humor to the carefully written sentence. IV. Quote Response “Eric was always a dreamer, but he liked them ugly: bleak and morose, yet boring as hell. He saw beauty in the void. Eric dreamed of a world where nothing ever happened. A world where the rest of us had been removed…. Anger turned inwards equals depression. Dylan Klebold was not a man of action. He was conscripted by a boy who was. ” (page 45) This quote accurately describes each of the boys’ personalities in a simple yet dignified way.
Analyzing the boys themselves becomes easier when you have a glimpse into their psyche. Part of Cullen’s research actually included reading journals written by Eric and Dylan, so theories that are drawn or compiled by Cullen are that much more reliable. Although these are still opinions there is hard evidence that this quote developed from, which is why it is the most important quote within the first one hundred pages. Knowledge that Eric was considered “a dreamer” is particularly helpful to the reader.
Habitually being in your own world (head) leads to some level of development of an antisocial demeanor, however Eric was anything but antisocial. This is an interesting variable that further complicates the question of Why?. Conversely, Dylan was shy and not as confident. Cullen does not state this in the quote specifically. When Cullen writes Dylan “was conscripted by a boy who was”, the interpretation is partly left to the reader’s understanding of the phrase “a boy who was”. Dylan was just there; no purpose or goal, he just was….
