Alaina

Revision 2 June 15,2010 Classis vs. Hardboiled Fiction Two major types of detective fiction include classic and hard boiled detection. Each of these types of fiction has its own unique characteristics. __The Big Sleep__, by Raymond Chandler is a hard boiled story whereas “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is a classic detection story. Classic detection is slow- paced, and has only one problem to figure out. Hard boiled fiction, on the other hand, is fast-paced, and multiple mysteries to solve. Hard boiled detection is more enjoyable to read, to me, because it keeps us in suspense and it is more interesting. I prefer to read hard boiled stories because they are faster paced and have more mystery to them. Hard boiled stories also show more detail when describing the crimes than classic detection stories do.

__The Big Sleep __ by Raymond Chandler is considered a hard boiled story. The story is fast paced, and more mysteries appear as we read.In __The Big Sleep__, there is more than one mystery to solve. To start off, the first mystery is for Marlowe, a tough, honest detective hired by General Sternwood to take care of Geiger. Sternwood believes Geiger is blackmailing his daughter with pictures. As the story continues we read about several people getting murdered. The story no longer just a missing item mystery, it is a multiple murder mystery The story keeps a good fast pace and does not dwell on one problem. The plot development as a hard boiled story is fast and gets right into the story, whereas a classic detection story takes a while before getting into the real mystery.In hard boiled stories, there is a twist to each mystery. In __The Big Sleep__, when Marlowe is teaching Carmen to use a gun, she turns the gun on Marlowe to kill him. As a reader, we do not suspect she would turn on him.A hard boiled detection story is hard to know what the ending will be. It keeps the reader wanting to read more.

“A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is known to be a classic detection story. This story is also about a missing object.Unlike a hard boiled story, this is the only plot. I believe this is a weakness to classic detection. There is no murder mystery to figure out.Holmes is trying to figure out where a picture is hidden so it will not ruin the King of Bohemia. Holmes thinks he has disappointed the King by not receiving the picture.Holmes says to the King, “‘I am sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty’s business to a more successful conclusion’ “(19). Holmes does not have in his possession that picture that the King came to receive. The picture would destroy the King and his marriage if it is sent out.Holmes feels like he has failed at his mission. The King, on the other hand, believes that Holmes did successfully complete what was asked of him.Holmes got the woman who is in possession of the picture to admit she will never show it.The King tells Holmes, “‘nothing could be more successful.I know her word is inviolate. The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire” (19).Even though Holmes thinks he has failed, the King is satisfied in the end. The story drags in the beginning before getting into the action. There is no suspense to the story.This classic detection story only has one plot and is a slow paced story.

Classic detection and hard boiled are very different in the way the stories are constructed. When reading a mystery, I like when it is detailed so I can get a better picture of what is really happening. Classic detection is slow and straightforward.Both types of stories are interesting and exciting to read.

Revised June 14,2010 Classis vs. Hardboiled Fiction Two major types of detective fiction include classic and hard boiled detection. Each of these types of fiction has its own unique characteristics.__The Big Sleep__, by Raymond Chandler is a hard boiled story whereas “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is a classic detection story. Classic detection is slow- paced, and had only one problem to figure out. Hard boiled fiction, on the other hand, is fast-paced, and multiple mysteries to solve.

__The Big Sleep __ by Raymond Chandler is considered a hard boiled story. The story is fast paced and as the story goes on, more mysteries appear. In __The Big Sleep__, there is more than one mystery to solve. To start off, the first mystery is for Marlowe, a tough, honest detective hired by General Sternwood to take care of Geiger, who Sternwood believes is blackmailing his daughter with pictures. As the story continues we read about several people getting murdered. The story is now not just a missing item mystery, it is also multiple murder mystery. The plot development as a hard boiled story is fast and gets right into the story, whereas a classic detection story takes a while before getting into the real mystery.

“A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is known to be a classic detection story. This story is also about a missing object.Unlike a hard boiled story, this is the only plot. There is no murder mystery to figure out. Holmes is trying to figure out where a picture is hidden so it will not ruin the King of Bohemia. Holmes figures out where the picture is being kept, but is then outwitted by a female and does not get the picture in his possession. Holmes does not get the outcome he was hoping for, but the King is satisfied. Holmes thinks he has disappointed the King by not receiving the picture. Holmes says to the King, “‘I am sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty’s business to a more successful conclusion’ “(19). Holmes does not have in his possession that picture that the King came to receive. The picture would destroy the King and his marriage if it is sent out. The King of Bohemia went to Holmes disguised, and asked Holmes to find the picture.Holmes feels like he has failed at his mission. The King, on the other hand, believes that Holmes did successfully complete what was asked of him. Holmes got the woman who is in possession of the picture to admit she will never show it. The King tells Holmes, “‘nothing could be more successful.I know her word is inviolate. The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire” (19).Even though Holmes thinks he has failed, the King is satisfied in the end.This classic detection story only has one plot and is a slow paced story.

Classic detection and hard boiled are very different in the way the stories are constructed. I prefer to read hard boiled stories because they are faster paced and have more mystery to them. Hard boiled stories also show more detail when describing the crimes. When reading a mystery, I like when it is detailed so I can get a better picture of what is really happening. Classic detection is slow and straightforward.Both types of stories are interesting and exciting to read.

June 13, 2010

Classis vs. Hardboiled Fiction While detective fiction is exciting to read, there are two different types the detective fiction genre can be.There is the classic detective fiction and there is hardboiled fiction.Each of these types of fiction has their own unique characteristics.__The Big Sleep__, by Raymond Chandler is a hard boiled story whereas “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is a classic detection story.While both types being a detective mystery, classic detection is slow- paced, one problem to figure out and the language is simple.Hard boiled fiction, on the other hand, is fast-paced, multiple mysteries to solve and the language is witty.

__The Big Sleep __ by Raymond Chandler is considered a hard boiled story.The story is fast paced and as the story goes on, more mysteries appear.Chandler’s choice of words is witty where he uses phrases like “won’t play the sap.”In The Big Sleep, there is more than one mystery to solve.To start off, the first mystery is for Marlowe, a tough, honest detective hired by General Sternwood to take care of Geiger, who Sternwood believes is blackmailing his daughter with pictures. As the story continues we read about several people getting murdered by all different people.The story is now not just a missing item mystery, it is also multiple murder mystery.The plot development as a hard boiled story is fast and gets right into the story, whereas a classic detection story takes a while before getting into the real mystery.

“A Scandal in Bohemia” by Conan Doyle is known to be a classic detection story.This story is also about a missing object.Unlike a hard boiled story, this is the only plot.There is no murder mystery to figure out.Holmes is trying to figure out where a picture is hidden so it will not ruin the King of Bohemia.Holmes figures out where the picture is being kept, but is then outwitted by a female and does not get the picture in his possession.Holmes does not get the outcome he was hoping for, but the King is satisfied.Holmes thinks he has disappointed the King by not receiving the picture.Holmes says to the King, “‘I am sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty’s business to a more successful conclusion’ “(19).Holmes does not have in his possession that picture that the King, in disguise came to Holmes and asked him to receive.Holmes feels like he has failed at his mission.The King, on the hand, believes that Holmes did successfully complete what was asked of him.Holmes got the woman who is in possession of the picture to admit she will never show it.The King tells Holmes, “‘nothing could be more successful.I know her word is inviolate. The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire” (19). Even though Holmes thinks he has failed, the King is satisfied in the end.This classic detection story only has one plot and is a slow paced story.

Both of these stories are considered to be modern detective fiction stories, but they have their differences. Classic detection and hard boiled are very different in the way the stories are constructed.I prefer to read hard boiled stories because they are faster paced and have more mystery to them. Classic detective mystery is slow and straightforward. Both types of stories are interesting and exciting to read.

Revision 2 - 6/12/10

Female Detective vs. Male Detectives After reading many stories from the detective genre, we can see that there are not only male sleuths but females as well. Reading detective fiction shows us how a male sleuth uses different techniques than a female sleuth to solve a crime. The creators of the men and women detectives such as Glaspell and Poe give their detectives unique characteristics to help them solve a crime. The woman detectives use intuition, whereas the men sleuths use more a logical approach. When a woman author creates a female sleuth, she gives her the same characteristics that she may have. A male is not as emotional as a woman is and therefore the male detective likes to use logic to solve his case.

“A Jury for Her Peers” written by a Susan Glaspell has female sleuths, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. They assist their husbands in an investigation. They are trying to figure out why Mrs. Wright committed murder. The husbands, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Peters along with Mr. Henderson try to solve the murder using logic. From the beginning when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters walk into Mrs. Wright’s house, they can tell something is not right by how the kitchen is left. Mrs. Hale notices that things are unfinished in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale knows that she would never leave her kitchen with unfinished tasks and something must have distracted Mrs. Wright from what she was doing.Mrs. Hale wonders, “She had been interrupted and had left things half done. What had interrupted Minnie Foster? Why had that work been left half done? She made a move as of to finish it – unfinished things always bothered her” (164). The women know that something must have happened for her to leave everything a mess. The women sleuths are using their intuition as females to figure out that something was not right with Minnie Foster. The men, on the other hand, say “ ‘Nothing here but kitchen things’, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things” (162). The men do not think anything is wrong by having a messy kitchen. They believe nothing significant happened in the kitchen. Male sleuths use logic and do not take the time to notice little details, like unfinished things in the kitchen, while the females take careful notice of all details. The women sleuths can understand from an emotional viewpoint that they would never leave things half done.Women like to make sure that they complete a task before moving onto something else.The women wonder what happened to Minnie Foster that kept her from completing her tasks in the kitchen.This causes Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter to keep searching for clues to put the puzzle together.

In “The Murders at the rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe, the detective is a male. Detective Dupin never once uses intuition to solve his crimes. He uses logic to solve his cases. Dupin outsmarts the incompetent police and figures out the murders on his own. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a locked - room mystery that has stumped the police. Dupin is able to use his logic and look outside the building for any clues that may lead to how the intruder got into the room. Dupin, while investigating, sees a broken nail in the window.Since there is no means of entering or leaving the room, this is a big clue for Dupin.Dupin investigates the window with the broken nail and figures out this is how the murderer got into the room. Dupin is smart and witty because Poe gives him these characteristics. Poe is thinking from a male’s point of view and makes his detective very smart and wise.

It is important for the reader to understand how male and female sleuths work. A male detective uses logic to solve a crime and females can solve a case by thinking and feeling in a way that men cannot.Women can identify with other women and use their intuition.Male and female sleuths use different approaches to solve a crime. Women can relate to other women and use emotion to help them put the pieces the together. Males skip over little details and solve a crime the logical way, using reason and proof. While both being very smart in their ways, they are very different when it comes to solving a crime.

Female Detective vs. Male Detectives After reading many stories from the detective genre, we can see that there are not only male sleuths but females as well. Reading detective fiction has shown us how male and female sleuths are different. A male sleuth uses different techniques than a female sleuth to solve a crime. The authors of the men and women detectives such as Glaspell and Poe give their detectives unique characteristics to help them solve a crime. The woman detectives use intuition where as the men sleuths use more a logical approach. When a woman author creates a female sleuth, she gives her the same characteristics that she may have. A male is not as emotional as a woman is and therefore the male detective likes to use logic to solve his case. “A Jury for Her Peers” written by a Susan Glaspell has female sleuths, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. They assist their husbands in an investigation. They are trying to figure out why Mrs. Wright committed murder and what led to her do so. The husbands, Mr. Hale, Mr. Peters and Mr. Henderson try to solve the murder using logic. From the beginning when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters walk into Mrs. Wright’s house, they can tell something is not right by how the kitchen is left. Mrs. Hale notices that things were unfinished in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale knows that she would never leave her kitchen with unfinished task and something must have distracted Mrs. Wright from what she was doing. Mrs. Hale says, “She had been interrupted and had left things half done. What had interrupted Minnie Foster? Why had that work been left half done? She made a move as of to finish it – unfinished things always bothered her” (164). From a woman’s prospective, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know that they would have never left their kitchen with unfinished things. The women know that something must have happened for her to leave everything a mess. The women sleuths are using their intuition as females to figure out that something was not right with Minnie Foster. The men, on the other hand, say “‘Nothing here but kitchen things’, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen thing” (162). The men did not think anything was wrong by having a messy kitchen. They believe nothing significant happened in the kitchen and skip over the little details. Male sleuths use logic and skip over little details, like unfinished things in the kitchen, while the females take careful notice of all details. The women sleuths can understand from an emotional view point that they would never leave things half done. Women like to make sure that they complete a task before moving onto something else. The women wonder what happened to Minnie Foster that kept her from completing her tasks in the kitchen.

In “The Murders at the rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main detective is a male. Detective Dupin never once uses intuition to solve his crimes. He uses logic to solve his cases. Dupin outsmarts the incompetent police and figures out the murders on his own. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a locked - room mystery that has stumped the police. Dupin is able to use his logic and look outside the building for any clues that may lead to how the intruder got into the room. Dupin, while investigating, sees a broken nail in the window. Since there is no other sign of breaking in, this is a big clue for Dupin. Dupin investigates the window with the broken nail and figures out this is how the murderer got into the room. Dupin is smart and witty because Poe gives him these characteristics. Poe is thinking from a male’s point of view and makes his detective very smart and wise.

It is important for the reader to understand how male and female sleuths work. The authors also play a big part is giving the sleuths different characteristics to help them solve a crime. A male detective uses logic to solve a crime and does not pay attention to little details as females do, such as the kitchen being left half done, and a broken bird cage in “A Jury for Her Peers.” Male and female sleuths use different approaches to solve a crime. Women can relate to other women and use emotion to help them put the pieces the together. Males skip over little details and solve a crime the logical way, using reason and proof. While both being very smart in their ways, they are very different when it comes to solving a crime.

Female Detective vs. Male Detectives After reading many stories from the detective genre, we can see that there are not only male sleuths but females as well. Reading detective fiction has shown us how male and female sleuths are different. A male sleuth uses different techniques than a female sleuth would use to solve a crime. The authors of the men and women detective such as Glaspell and Poe give their leading detectives unique characteristics to help them solve a crime. The woman detectives use intuition as where the men sleuths use more a logical approach. When a woman author creates a female sleuth, she gives her the same characteristics that she may have. A male is not as emotional as a woman is and therefore the male detective likes to use logic to prove his case. “A Jury for Her Peers” written by a Susan Glaspell has a female sleuth. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the in direct sleuths of this story. They assist their husbands in a murder. They are trying to figure out why Mrs. Wright committed murder and what led to her do so. The husbands, Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters try to use logic behind everything. From the beginning when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters walk into Mrs. Wright’s house they can tell something was not right by how the kitchen was left. Mrs. Hale noticed that things were unfinished in the kitchen. “She had been interrupted and had left things half done. What had interrupted Minnie Foster? Why had that work been left half done? She made a move as of to finish it – unfinished things always bothered her” (164). From a woman’s prospective, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know that they would have never left their kitchen with unfinished things. The women know that something must have happened for her to leave everything a mess. The women sleuths are using their intuition as a female to figure out that something was right with Minnie Foster. The men on the other hand said “Nothing here but kitchen things, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen thing” (162). The men did not think anything was wrong by having a messy kitchen. They believe nothing significant happened in the kitchen and skip over the little details. Males sleuths want to use logic while the females use as much detail as they can. The women can understand from an emotional point that they would never leave things half done so what happened to Minnie Foster that she did. In “The Murders at the rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main detective was a male. Detective Dupin never once uses intuition to solve his crimes. He uses logic and reasoning behind everything he does. Dupin outsmarts the incompetent police and figures out the murders on his own. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a locked room mystery that stumped the police. Dupin was able to use his logic and look outside the building for any clues that may lead to how the intruder got into the room. Dupin, while investigating sees a broken nail in the window and figures out that must be how the murderer got in. Dupin is smart and witty because Poe gives him these characteristics. Poe is thinking from a male’s point of view and makes his detective very smart and wise. Unlike a female sleuth, Dupin does not dwell on the small details or is able to use intuition to help solve the crime. It is important for the reader to understand how male and female sleuths work. The authors also play a big part is giving the sleuth different characteristics to help them solve a crime. A male detective use logic to solve a crime and does not pay attention to little details like females do, such as the kitchen being left half done, and a broken bird cage in “A Jury for Her Peers”. Male and female sleuths use different approaches on how to solve a crime. Women can relate to other women and use emotion to help them put the pieces the together. Males skip over little detail and solve a crime the logical way using reason and proof. Male detectives also like to reenact the crime to figure out what happened. While both being very smart in their ways, they are very different when it comes to solving a crime.


 * Response #1 Revised**

__Modern Detective Fiction Elements__

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered to be the first modern detective story. Modern detective literature arose in the 1840’s. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” was written in 1841 and exhibits all the elements that make up a modern detective mystery. According to Wikipedia, “A true detective story includes a crime and suspects that are wrongfully accused.” Even though this story is lengthy and had some insignificant parts, such as the mind reading episode, it typically shows what a detective mystery should be. It sets the story line for Poe’s mysteries to follow. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered a locked – room mystery and demonstrates the elements that make up a detective mystery story. This story does not exceed my notion, but corresponds to what a detective mystery should be.

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered to be a locked-room mystery. A locked- room mystery is when a crime is committed leaves no evidence of entering or leaving. In this story, that is exactly what happens. The police are so incompetent that they cannot think of why there is no evidence of a person entering or leaving the scene of the crime. Dupin is able to think beyond the police and use his imagination to come up with a reason for it. Dupin is able to notice the broken nail in the window and use his skill to figure out this is how they get in the room. In a detective and mystery fiction story, clues are given from which we should be able to solve the crime and then get the reasoning behind it from the detective. In “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” we are able to figure out that the crime was committed by an animal because of the clues and explanation Dupin gives us. A detective story should show how one has the ability to solve a crime and do it in a witty way. Dupin’s ability and sharpness also allows him to outsmart the incompetent police that are working to solve this mystery. Dupin has a special ability and the mind reading episode shows how he pays attention to detail and uses logical reasoning. The mind reading episode is not of importance to the detective mystery, but it is important to build the character of detective Dupin.The whole reason for this section is to show how Dupin works. He is able to recall details and read body language.Knowing how Dupin works and thinks, it educates the reader on how he solves a mystery. In “The Murders of Rue Morgue”, Dupin works with an unnamed narrator, and he states, “At such times I could not help remarking and admiring (although from his rich ideality I had been prepared to expect it) a peculiar analytic ability in Dupin” (6). Another element of the detective mystery is to have a detective solve some kind of crime.“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” solves a crime, specifically a murder.This story also had a twist to the ending. The murderer ended up not being who the detective thought it would be.The murderer is actually an animal, not a human. Dupin is able to find evidence outside of the room to put the puzzle together and figure it out. Poe experiments with this story and gets a feel as to how detective fiction stories should be written.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is the first detective fiction story. It exhibits the elements of detective and mystery stories and sets the tone and characters for Poe’s next detective stories. It does not exceed my notion of a detective mystery because it is lengthy and has unnecessary elements. The story is a good start to becoming a good detective mystery story but still needs some work. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is an opener for Poe to start off his detective fiction and the stories are able to get better as Poe tells more mysteries.

Response #1 

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered to be the first modern detective story. Modern detective literature arose in the 1840’s. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” was written in 1841 and follows all the elements that make up a modern detective mystery. According to Wikipedia, “A true detective story includes a crime and suspects that are wrongfully accused”. Even though this story is lengthy and had some insignificant parts, such as the mind reading episode, it typically follows what a detective mystery should be. It sets the story line for Poe’s mysteries to follow. Detective and mystery fiction should have a detective who is able to solve a crime. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in a Rue Morgue” exceeds my notion of what a detective fiction story should portray.

The mind reading episode was not of importance to a detective mystery, but it is important to build upon the character of detective Dupin. The whole reason for this section was to show how Dupin works. He is able to recall detail and read body language. Knowing how Dupin works and thinks educates the reader on how he can solve a mystery. In the Murders of Rue Morgue, Dupin is working an unnamed narrator and he states,”At such times I could not help remarking and admiring (although from his rich ideality I had been prepared to expect it) a peculiar analytic ability in Dupin” (page 6). Dupin has a special ability and the mind reading episode he does shows how he pays attention to detail and shows logical reasoning. Dupin’s ability and sharpness also allows him to outsmart the incompetent police that are working to solve this mystery. A detective story should show how one has the ability to solve a crime and do it in a witty way.

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered to be a locked-room mystery. A locked room mystery is when a crime that is committed and leaves no evidence of entering or leaving. In this story, that is exactly what happens. The police are so incompetent that they cannot think of why there is no evidence of a person entering or leaving the place of the crime. Dupin is able to think beyond the police and use creative detail to come up with a reason for it. In a detective and mystery fiction story, the reader is given clues which they are able to solve the crime and then get the reasoning behind it from the detective in the story. In The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, we are able to figure out that the crime was committed by an animal and then we see how Dupin figured it out.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is the first detective fiction story. It follows the elements of detective and mystery stories and sets the tone and characters for Poe’s other detective stories. Even though this is the first detective fiction, it solves a crime in the end and has a twist as to who the murderer really is. Poe was able to experiment with this story and get a feel as to how detective fiction stories should be written. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is an opener for Poe to start off his detective fiction and the stories are able to get better as Poe tells more mysteries.