Maria

Female sleuth stories differ from male detective stories, because they characters are often portrayed in a different manner. In detective fiction, the plot is usually developed around the main character. Author’s use the strengths, vulnerabilities, weaknesses, emotions, and the physical aspects of their characters, to tell their stories. This is how readers can identify differences between male vs. female detective writing and understand the concepts used when creating detective fiction.

Female writers, such as Susan Glaspel, who wrote “Jury of Her Pears”, show detective fiction with strong emotions within the characters. Glaspel depicts the strengths of the women throughout the story. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale examine a crime scene using their intuition and a female sense of knowledge. As they analyze the situation, they come across clues that suggest Mrs. Wright, did indeed kill her husband. As the men in the story make a mockery of the women in the kitchen, “Nothing here but kitchen things”, as they laughed”, the women tend to stick by one another. They are supportive of Mrs. Wright. They feel Mrs. Wrights pain, and sympathize for what she had to endure while she was married. Glaspel shows emotions in the story, through Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters understanding that Mrs. Wright has finally been set free from her misery.

Detective fiction from a male perspective, such as Poe, in “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, shows a totally different style of writing. Poe uses no emotions when writing the story. Instead, he gives graphic descriptions of how the murders of the women were committed, making sure not to leave out any gory details. Poe makes his main character, Dupin, the hero of the story. Dupin solves the mystery. Poe provides explicit detail of how Dupin solved the murders and what was to be expected next. He shows no emotion for the women who were brutally murdered; he merely puts the attention on Dupin and how smart he was. He especially focuses on Dupin outwitting the police.

In summary, women sleuth fiction and male detective fiction, often differ drastically. They author’s style of writing usually contributes to these differences. The women use emotions, love, and physical character to create a plot. On the contrary, male writers use amusement, graphic details, and gore, while showing no emotion, to create a plot around their characters.


 * < Female sleuth differs from male detective in how they perceive their writing. When writing detective fiction, the plot develops entirely on how the writer portrays their characters. The authors use their strength, vulnerabilities, weakness, emotions, and the physical aspects to tell their stories. Here we see the differences of how detective fiction between male vs. female writing can be used to understand the concepts of detective writing.

Female writers such as Susan Glaspel, who wrote “Jury of Her Pears”, show detective fiction that has emotions within the characters. It also shows when she wrote it, the strengths of the women throughout the story. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale examine a crime scene with the intuitions of a female sense of knowledge. As they analyze the situation, they come across clues that suggest Mrs. Wright did indeed kill her husband. As the men in the story make a mockery of the women while in the kitchen, “Nothing here but kitchen things”, as they laughed”, the women tend to stick by on another in support for Mrs. Wright. They feel Mrs. Wrights pain, and sympathize for what she had to endure while she was married. Glaspel shows emotions in the story as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters understand now that Mrs. Wright is finally set free from her misery.

Detective fiction on a male aspect, such as Poe, in “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, shows a totally different style of writing. Poe uses no emotions when writing the story. He instead uses graphic details of how the murders of the women were committed, making sure not to leave out any gory details. As he makes his main character, Dupin, the one who solved the mystery the hero of it all. Poe also shows explicit details of how Dupin solved the mystery and what was to be expected next. He shows no emotions for the women who were brutally murdered; he merely puts the attention on Dupin and how smart he was, especially because he outwits the police.

In conclusion, detective fictions between men detectives and women sleuths do differ drastically. As they gather the information to support their theory, are greatly different. The women use emotions, love, and the physical aspects in their writing to create a plot. While the men use amusement, graphic details, and goor while showing no emotions as they portray their characters to create their plot. || Edgar Allan Poe has a unique way of writing detective fiction. Often, when readers think about detective fiction, they think mainly about murder and suspense. However, as Poe exhibits, the details and setting of a mystery can be essential as well. Poe writes his story, “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” with such graphic detail, that readers can actually visualize the plot in their minds. The clues given throughout the story provide readers with excitement, making it interesting to anticipate what will happen next. Poe sets the story in an urban city, making it relatable, as urban crime was very prevalent during the time period from which it was written. Reader’s can identify with murders taking place within a large city.

Nevertheless, “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, although interesting, falls short of my expectations for detective fiction. This is because it lacks a compelling beginning and the plot seems to get complicated after a while. When Poe introduces Dupin, the main character, he lets readers know everything about him. He gives readers the illusion that Dupin is a very intelligent man, and that he knows what to do when it comes to solving crimes.

Poe’s graphic depictions in “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” display detailed information about how the women in the story were murdered. “....with her throat so entirely cut that, upon an attempt to raise her, the head fell off”. Poe fails to relate this scene to readers. He does not make it easy to identify with the type of imagination and interpretation of gothic fiction, which he portrays throughout the story. Readers want to know how the murders were committed, but this could be done in a less graphic manner.

Towards the middle of the story, Poe gives all the answers needed to solving the crime. He leaves no room for suspense, since the killer is now revealed. If Poe would have waited until the end of the story to provide all of the information, the anticipation of what was going to happen next would leave the reader on edge, making it easy to continue reading. The anticipation of what might happen next, fell through. It becomes simply a matter of finishing the story to get done with it.

Dupin solves the mystery, and becomes the hero, but it is expected. Poe’s intentions are good, and "Murders in the Rue Morgue" exhibits most elements of detective fiction, however it is not the greatest story. It contained concepts enjoyable for the reader, but could have been more suspenseful, leaving the reader with more to think about.

Redo

Edgar Allan Poe has a unique way of writing detective fiction. When readers hear of detective fiction, they think of murder and suspense. Poe view’s his story “Murders in the Rue Morgue” with graphic details, so the reader can actually visualize the plot of the story. The clues given in this story provide the readers excitement, so they can relate to what Poe’s is trying to get across as he writes. He uses surroundings of an urban city where crime must have been what Poe was experiencing at the time of his writing. This gives the reader something to look forward to. “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, falls short of my expectations for detective fiction because it lacks a compelling beginning, becomes complicated, and fails to generate sufficient suspense. As Poe introduces Dupin, the main character, he lets the readers know everything about him. Although Poe gives the readers the illusion that Dupin is a very intelligent man, and he knows what to do when it comes to detective fiction, he seems to drag it out. The life of Dupin is not of importance as Poe intended it to be. Poe continues the story as it becomes complicated to follow. Although he uses graphic details of how the murders were committed, he fails to relate to how the readers will perceive his interpretation and imagination of gothic fiction that he portrays in this story. Readers want to know how the murders are committed, but in a manner that is less graphic. As Poe writes the story, you get suspense. Towards the middle of the story, Poe gives all the answers you need to know. This leaves the reader knowing who the killer is and the suspense is gone. If Poe waited until the end of the story to give the information he did in the middle, it would have left the reader on the seat of his pants, wanting to know what is going to happen next. The anticipation of what is going to happen next fell through. The reader received all the information and now the reader just wants to finish the story. Although Dupin solves the mystery, and becomes the hero, this was to be expected. Poe’s intentions were good, although I was not a fan of this story. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” did exhibit the elements of detective fiction. It added concepts that the reader enjoyed, but could have been more suspenseful giving the reader more to think about.

Most critics regard Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" as the first modern detective story. What is your assessment of it? Does it correspond to, fall short of, or exceed your notion of what detective and mystery fiction is or should be? Edgar Allen Poe has a unique way of expressing detective fiction. When you hear of detective fiction you would think of murders, but not by an animal. It is strange that he would use an animal for his first detective fiction story. When he expresses his views of the murders, he uses explicit graphic ways, so the reader can actually visualize what he has written. It does fall short of the expatiations for women readers. Women want to enjoy a short story, but not in a graphic or gory way. Although Poe changed literature in a significant way, he gives the readers a problem-solving way of reading. The clues given in this short story are expressed so the readers can related to what Poe is trying to get across to his readers. He uses the surroundings of an urban city where crime must have been what Poe was experiencing the time of his writing. This interests the readers and gives them something to look forward to towards the suspension they must await. While Poe uses Dupin as his main character, along with narration, he shows the reader that he is in control of his mystery. He gives Dupin the upper hand to let the reader know that Dupin will solve this mystery with ease. It could have been a bit more suspenseful, and less dragged out. In the first few chapters, Poe could have given the readers more of a “bang” to get there interest. He dragged out the first few pages leading the reader board without anything to look forward to. If Poe would have given the reader more of an anticipation to look forward to, the reader would not have put the book down so that they would get an understanding of what is going to happen next. Anyone that reads detective fiction will tell you that the beginning of a story that has something the reader is looking for is a great read. While I did not enjoy this reading of Poe’s detective fiction, I am sure other may have. It seemed that he dragged out the story, and it was complicated from the start. If he would have used more suspense and tried to interest the reader from the start, it may have been somewhat good. As we discussed this short story in class, it leads me to understand how Poe thinks and why his writing is the way he portrays it. Gothic fiction was new to me and Poe uses this in his short story. The effects that Poe wants the reader to believe and what he is writing, leads to realizing at the end what is really happening.