Detective Fiction

Question 1

Classic detective fiction

Answer 1

• Unsolved mystery
• Isolated setting; contrast between isolation and the chaos of the outside world
• Main character = detective, all other characters are incapable of solving the crime
• Little character development, plot emphasizes the solving of the crime

Question 2

Golden age detective fiction

Answer 2

• Crime is always murder
• Setting is enclosed
• Range of suspects all capable of committing the crime
• Plot focuses on solving the puzzle and identifying the criminal
• Reader participates in the puzzle solving

Question 3

Hard-boiled detective fiction

Answer 3

• Setting takes place in a brutal corrupt city
• Detective is an ordinary man, not upper-class
• Development of the investigation has intimidation and temptation
• Climax = confrontation of the criminal
• Detective = judge, jury, executioner

Question 4

Historical Materialism

Answer 4

New modes of production create new class relations

Question 5

Labour theory of value

Answer 5

The ruling class generates profit by exploiting workers

Question 6

Proletarian revolution

Answer 6

workers must seize control of the means of production

Question 7

Ideology critique

Answer 7

By critiquing the ideology of the ruling class, intellectuals help workers recognize their exploitation and revolt against the system

Question 8

Marxist method

Answer 8

1. Analyze how class relations and class conflicts are represented in the text
2. Explain the ideological implications of these representations
3. Consider the potential impact of these representations of readers

Question 9

Crime

Answer 9

form of revolt against the oppression of a capitalist society

Therefore, the root of crime = capitalism

Socialism is the cure for crime

Outgrowth of unemployment and poor social conditions

Question 10

Legal system

Answer 10

Will never solve crime as it does not address the underlying issues (i.e., social inequality)

Question 11

Detective fiction reinforces the status quo…

Answer 11

Always told from the perspective of the detective, who represents the legal system

Laws are never questioned

Sociological issues of crime are ignored

Crime represents a redistribution of wealth, which is always shut down by detectives; preserving the power of the ruling class