info Flashcards
genre specific characteristics for investigators
- fearless, astute, tricky
- do not have deep partnerships that bind them emotionally
- crossing of boundaries
examples of texts movies in which investigators, risk their lives/ cross boundaries
-miss Marple, joins a group of actors, that contains a potential murderer in “Murder most foul” (1964)
who wrote ‘Sherlock Holmes’?
Arthur Conan Doyle
elements of crime writing:
- type of crime text
- settings
- nature of crime + criminals (motives, violence, murder, theft, betrayal)
- the investigation
- how far there is MORAL PURPOSE OR RESTORATION OF ORDER
- guilt + remorse, confessions and desire for forgiveness
- typical detective hero
- resolution
- victims, secrets
- importance of insignificant details
- central motifs (love, money, danger, death)
- structural patterning, plotting, language used (criminal register, legal register
- the way crime writing is used to comment on society (particular historical periods)
- -how crime affects audience and readers, (suspense, repugnance, excitement, relief
key crime features of PRE 18th century
- crimes occur, narrative compelled by its commission
- each is a thematic hinge for the exploration of more fundamental issues
- crime/mysteries are incidental and subordinate to other more significant themes
key crime features of the 18th century
- criminal misbehaviour and the dispensation of justice
- no mystery, no process of detection
- awareness of authors to readers’ interests in the treatment of wrongdoers
- judicial system major cases of arrest and trial
the Golden age
1914-1945
key crime features of the golden age
- not about the character, characterisation is limited
- detective is often alienated from the world they investigate
- preoccupation with motives and movement sanitises the macabre and grotesque
- quiz, part of a game where you put your skills against an anonymous adversary
- a balance between the excitement of observing crime + solution from a morally aloof distance is created (link to high society)
- plot puzzle formula
what did W.H. Auden say about resolution
The solution of the crime is the moment of artistic resolution when the ‘aesthetic’ (outward appearance of the world) and the ‘ethical’ (moral framework of the world) are realigned having been thrown out of joint by the commission of the original crime.
when was golden age
1920s, 1930s
what was a big focus in the golden age period?
particular detective who’s investigation provides forward motion of the story (19th century trope)-
sherlock holmes , ACD
Charles dickens bleak house (detective inspector bucket)
golden age: what was the role of detectives?
with the help of a sidekick, assemble clues to solutions of complex crimes with solution at the end of story
golden age coventions 2
-believable plot + characters grounded in the real world, or at least a realistic world
crime that seems unsolvable by everyday police, or is “impossible” (for example, a door locked from the inside)
criminal presented to readers early in the narrative, among other ordinary characters
events and suspicious behaviour that provide misdirection
use of stereotypical characters to fill out the cast
unsympathetic murder victims
a brilliant detective (amateur or professional) whose powers of deduction far exceed those of ordinary detectives
a solution that does not introduce new clues but often focuses on insignificant details the reader easily passes over
a presentation of the case that concludes the narrative in a satisfying way, leaving no clue unexplained
suggest how TMORA adheres to golden age conventions
-crime occurs at the beginning with inept police force
-roger ackroyd well liked but stingy with money + controlling
-eavesdropping butlers, gossipers, maids
-crucial clues mentioned in a insignificant way
-secret relationships create misdirection
-brilliant detective Poirot notice + fit together ‘unimportant details’ like pieces of a puzzle
-
how does TMORA departs from golden age conventions?
-no solution? (however it can be argued that it does end with a solution)
