Eng 268 Ba thesis Todorov Flashcards
What does Todorov mean by duality in the whodunit?
That there are two stories in the a whodunit. The story of the crime and the story of the investigation.
What happens in the first story -the story of the crime? and in the story of the investigation?
The story of the crime tells ‘what really
happened,’ whereas … the story of the
investigation explains ‘how the reader
(or the narrator) has come to know
about it.’
What happens in the second story, the story of the investigation?
In the story of the investigation, they do not act, they learn. The detective is immune, and we examine clue after clue in a story that has a circular structure.
Give example of a geometeric structrured book
murder on orient express: 12 suspects, 12 chapters, 12 interogations, a prologue and epilogue which is the discovery of the crime and the the discovery of the killer.
Is the second story told by a friend of the detective?
Yes, because he is “writing a book” and explains how it came to be written.
Does the first story ignore the book compleately?
Yes, because no author can permit himself to indicate directlly the imaginary character of the story as it happens in literature.
What does the first story tell? The story of the crime
what really happend
What did the russians formalists isolate ?
The fable (story) from the subject (plot) of a narrative. The story is what happened in life , the plot is the way the author presents it to us.
what does the second story tell? The story of the investigation
Explains how the reader or how the narrator came to know about it.
what happens with time in the story?
No inversion in time, actions follow their natural order
Can the author present the results in the plot?
Yes, The author can present the results before their causes. The end before the beginning.
What does Todorov mean by thee story of the crime is absent but real? And the story of the investigation is present but insignificant?
The story of the crime is not talked about or explained, therefore it is absent but real.
The story of the investigation is talked about and explained, but insignificant as the murder is more important.
The second story contains things that are aspects of the narrative, what are these and what should be done about them?
Literary devices which are in fact the plot aspects of the narrative, that the author cannot leave them unexplained.
In the second story, theese devices are ?
Justified and naturalised, to give them the natural quality he must explain that he is writing a book.
What is a thriller according to Todorov?
A type of detective fiction that fuses he story of the crime with the story of the investigation, in other words, supresses the first and vitalises the second.We are no longer told about a crime anterior to the moment of the narrative: the narrative coincides with the action.
Are there any mystery in thrillers according to Todorov
No, in the sense that it was present in the whodunit.
What is the difference between a thriller and a whodunit according to Todorov ?
A whodunit: Mystery, detective is immune to death, corpse, clues,
Thriller: supresses the story of the crime, vitalises the story of the investigation, no mystery, antyhing can happen to the detecive. Suspense. The narraive coincides with the action. The detective might die in the end. No story to be guessed.Everything can happen in a thriller.
Why are readers intereest not lost when reading thrillers?
1.curiosity -we must find its cause, the culprit and its motive
2.suspense (what will happen after the gangsters have prepared the heist.
What does Marcel Duhamel mean when he says character is in its themes?
That we find violence everywhere, and in all forms such as violent passion, hatred, sorid, crime killings and beatings.
What does Hammett and chandler do with the mystery in their novels?
They preserve the element of mystery, it now has a secondary funcion, subordinate and no longer central as in whodunit.
What are the 8 Rules for detective ficton by s. s van dine?
1.The novel must hav one dteecivee, one criminal, one corpse.
2. the culprit must not be a proffessional criminal, not be the detective, must kill for personal reasons.
3. Love has no place in detective fiction
4.The culprit must have a certain importance
a) not be a butler or a chambermaid
b)in the book: must be one of the main characters
5.everything must be explainded rationally, the fantastic is not admitted.
6. There is no place for descriptions nor for psycological analyses.
7.With regard to information about the story, the folloiwn homology must be observed; author: reader: detective.
8. Banal situations must be avoided.
Which rules apply to the first story in the whodunit?
1-4 a)
Which rules apply to discourse, to the book of the second story are equally valid for the thriller.
rules 4b-7
