Long Blog Post–Response #23: Father Brown: The Emergence of Sidekicks

In “The Sins of Prince Saradine” by G.K. Chesterton, there were several moments I questioned whether or not this story as well was satirizing Sherlock Holmes and detective fiction. Yes, Father Brown did some detecting, but it was amateur detecting in my opinion. I definitely think Holmes would have been able to solve the mystery way before the duel. In the short story, Prince Saradine says: “Never mind; one can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place” (Chesterton 410-411). I kind of became irritated with Father Brown’s quote after re-reading the short story. After reading the quote the first time, I immediately became excited and figured that Father Brown was going to do something totally heroic and superhuman . . . I could not have been more wrong. During the duel between Prince Stephen Saradine and Antonelli, Father Brown tried intervening, but that was useless: “Father Brown had also sprung forward, striving to compose the dispute; but he soon found his personal presence made matters worse” (Chesterton 432). Prince Stephen Saradine and Antonelli were not going to be moved by a priest, so Father Brown went to Mrs. Anthony, which proved to be yet another failed attempt. Being an amateur detective, if you will, I admired Father Brown’s willingness to try to stop the duel; however, I was looking for him to do something worth the quote he quoted. As stated before, some way or another, I believe Sherlock Holmes would have figured out what was going on right off the bat.

Image Source: http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-francis-by-g-k-chesterton-chapter-v/

 

Image Source: http://www.kultura.banzaj.pl/galeria/sherlock-holmes-1-galdok-40915-434245-jpg.html

In “A Secret Garden,” I noticed more detecting from Father Brown, as well as similarities to Sherlock Holmes. In my opinion as well, it was “one of the best stories in the book, a perfect murder mystery with a twist ending” (Arora). It almost became a negative in my mind that Father Brown did not see Valentin’s suicide coming, especially with the constant note-writing (stretch I suppose), but it seems like either he did not figure out a crime until after the fact (at the same time as readers I might would argue), or he lacked confidence, which is a contrast from Holmes and just about every other lead detective we have discussed thus far.

Overall, Father Brown is an interesting detective, and I use that term very loosely. In my opinion, Father Brown represents the emerging sidekicks. I previously discussed Dr. Watson’s time to shine and solve the case in “A Red-Headed League,” however he does not; he simply waits for Holmes to give the explanation. Perhaps, that was because he did not want to embarrass himself. I am trying to argue an emergence of the side-kick detectives, so please bear with me. In the first episode (Season 1) I watched of Midsomer Murders, just about everything Sergeant Troy said was “less intelligent,” if you will. Perhaps Father Brown always muttered or said something shyly because of the stereotypical rule that sidekicks were not very intelligent. Perhaps, Father Brown is supposed to represent an emergence of side-kicks. This would indeed require further research, specifically on how the sidekicks are portrayed in later works, but it is definitely an idea that came to my mind.

Works Cited (with link):

Note: If the link does not automatically direct you to the site, copy and paste the link in your address bar. Thank you, and my apologies for the inconvenience. 

Arora, Rishi. “The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton.” Classic Mystery Hunt: The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. N.p., 23 June 2012. Web. 30 June 2014.                            

Chesterton, G. K. The Innocence of Father Brown. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

 

Long Blog post–Response #18: Satire in The Amateur Cracksman would make for a great paper.

The short stories in The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung definitely took some time and patience for me, while reading. I must say I did not find any of the stories interesting, and if I did, it was on the last few pages. It was a pain to read merely because I was looking for something that was not there. I kept looking for some of the common elements of detective fiction, and it was difficult to even do that. The first element I was looking for, which in my opinion is the most essential element, was the central, mysterious crime. I kept reading and re-reading trying to figuring what Raffles and Bunny were trying to detect, but it seemed like all they actually did was rob. Never mind my interest not being there; I kept trying to figure out the point of the stories. Were they supposed to be satirizing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson? Or perhaps, were they satirizing an aspect of British culture? If so, then that made a little more sense.

Upon reading “The Ides of March,” it took me an hour or so to finish it because I kept stopping to do other things; anything was better than reading that particular story. It was only until the last two or three pages, after the robbery, that I kind of sort of became interested in Raffles and Bunny, and noticed more similarities between Holmes and Raffles, as well as Watson and Bunny. After reading “A Costume Piece,” which was the most interesting story to me, I found a wonderful adaptation of it which helped me to better understand the story and the rest of the readings. I definitely can see where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle takes credit for being Hornungs’s inspiration because of the narration. Dr. Watson is almost always narrating Sherlock Holmes’s stories, just like Bunny is almost always narrating Raffles’s stories. Also, another obvious example is Bunny being Raffles’s sidekick, just like Dr. Watson’s is Holmes’s sidekick.

One thing that I would argue in another paper is the excessive closeness between Bunny and Raffles in the adaptations; it is a different closeness than Holmes and Watson, and even House and Dr. Wilson. In the adaptations, the thought of the two being lovers crossed my mind several times; however, I did not think that while reading the stories. Overall, did I enjoy the stories? No. I enjoyed the adaptations though. But as Sherlock Holmes said: “. . .  I think there are few finer examples of short-story writing in our language than these . . .” (Bleiler). Was this detective fiction? Ehhh, a cheap-shot answer would be yes because we are reading it in a class about British detectives. However, that is not my answer. Going strictly by the commandments, P.D. James’s characteristics of detective fiction, and other class discussions, this does not classify as detective fiction. Possibly towards the end of the class, new elements will occur that will classify The Amateur Cracksman as detective fiction. However, if not classified as detective fiction, credit must be given where it’s due, “and though Sherlock Holmes would forever remain the most popular fictional character, Raffles would rapidly become the second most popular fictional character of the time”(Bleiler).

Works Cited (with links):  2.A Costume Piece. Dir. Christopher Hodson. By Phillip Mackie. Perf. Anthony Valentine and Christopher Strauli. N.d. 2.A Costume Piece. Web. 25 June 2014.   Bleiler, Richard. “Raffles: The Gentleman Thief.”http://www.strandmag.com/raffles.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014.  http://<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strandmag.com%2Fraffles.htm>.

Short blog post–Response #19: Loyalty is Everything

I have given suck, and know

How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums

And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this. – (Macbeth, 1.7 55-60*)

* Note: Verse numbers might change depending on which book you are reading from.

 

The short story I chose to analyze and discuss out of The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung is “A Costume Piece.” I will be discussing the story itself and the short film I watched, “A Costume Piece,” which I highly recommend watching. I sought out looking for videos of the short stories because I had trouble following the stories and actually engaging with the texts. I chose to analyze and discuss “A Costume Piece” because it was the most interesting to me, and it was very comical while reading. The short film stays true to the actual story, even with some minor changes. In my opinion, the minor changes added humor to the film. For example, in the short story, Bunny does not attend the dinner with Raffles, yet in the film he does. In the short film, while Raffles is telling Bunny he wished he would have stood up after Rosenthall’s challenge about his diamonds, Bunny replies humorously: “. . . you very nearly did” (Mackie). I believe that scene was intended to be sort of comical, especially in the way Raffles started to stand up and accept the challenge, as well as Bunny’s naïve, ditzy-like personality, which is well-portrayed in the short film, in my opinion.

Raffles, played by Anthony Valentine, is about to rise to the challenge of accepting Rosenthall’s challenge. Image Source: (I took a snapshot of this picture from the online film): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpu9lo_2-a-costume-piece_shortfilms

From the short story and the short film, I learned more about British culture and British friendship and loyalty. I was wondering why there were no African Americans playing the parts of the waiting staff, but I remembered my writings on gender roles during the Victorian Era in relation to socioeconomic statuses, as well as Gabriel Betteredge. In The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, Gabriel Betteredge is the house steward at Lady Verinder’s house. In The Moonstone, Betteredge says: “I would have given something to have waited at table that day. But, in my position in the household, waiting at dinner (except on high family festivals) was letting down my dignity in the eyes of the other servant . . .” (Collins 143). Betteredge’s quote reminds me of the waiter in the short film, “A Costume Piece.” He appears to be an intelligent man who is possibly a steward of the club, and only on special occasions, waits for the wealthy club’s members; therefore, it would have been likely for an African American to be cooking the food or cleaning, instead of out in the front house mingling with the club members.

 

As far as the friendship and loyalty within the British culture, it seems to have been exemplified almost in every story we have read thus far. Betteredge is loyal to Lady Verinder, Watson is loyal to Holmes, Bunny is loyal to Raffles, and even Purvis is loyal to Rosenthall (side note, Rosenthall’s character is very similar to Dr. Watson’s and Bunny’s character, which I hope to write about). These sidekicks, if you will, are very loyal and honorable to their partners, which is a common element in English literature itself. Purvis proved to be very loyal and honorable to Rosenthall, even after being shot by him. The movie’s depiction of Purvis being hurt at being blamed of being disloyal by Rosenthall as well as his willingness to stay loyal after being shot was well-played. It was the highlight of the movie for me.

Purvis, played by Brian Glover, in shock that his friend Rosenthall not only shot him, but most of all questioned his loyalty. Image Source: (I took a snapshot of this picture from the online film): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpu9lo_2-a-costume-piece_shortfilms

Works Cited: 

Note: Refer to my Works Cited,  which is still being worked on, for all images’ citations. Thank you, and my apologies for the inconvenience. 

Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic.

Mackie, Phillip. A Costume Piece. Dir. Christopher Hodson. N.d. Television.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic.

Short Blog post–Response #14

The short stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made for a very interesting read. It was not impossible for me to follow Holmes’s logic because he explained all of his deductions. For example, in “The Red-Headed League”, after deducting Mr. Jabez Wilson, Mr. Wilson asks Sherlock Holmes: “How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” (Doyle 87). Sherlock Holmes then explains his reasoning, which personally gave me that “ah ha” moment.  I enjoyed the short stories a lot; however, my favorite was “The Red-Headed League.”

Image Source: http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/2010/07/wednesday-14-july-7pm-red-headed-league.html

“The Red-Headed League” kept me guessing, although my guesses were wrong. For example, I thought Mr. Wilson was going to have to do some criminal activity as his work, when he only had to write out of an encyclopedia; I also thought Mr. Wilson was going to leave the room, which he never did. Just like Mr. Wilson, in regards to “The Red-Headed League,” I was curious “. . . to find out about them, and who they are, and what their object was in playing this prank” (Doyle 117). There was so much suspense and so many questions that needed to be answered about “The Red-Headed League,” that I became hooked and excited to watch Holmes work, detect, and ultimately solve the case, like Dr. Watson.

Image Source: http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/Hoofd/A/PhotoLarge.php?Keuze=HolmesHeaded1985-6

In my opinion, readers are not relegated to watch Sherlock Holmes dazzle because opportunities are presented for readers’ to take a guess. For example, after Sherlock Holmes deduces a being, readers have the opportunity right after to take a guess at how Holmes came to certain conclusions, before reveals his deductive reasoning. However, a small counter-argument would be that readers are on the outside watching as Holmes dazzle because we are not presented with the exact details that Sherlock sees, therefore, it would be impossible to come up with the same deductions as him. Again, that is a counter-argument and not my argument.  I also do not feel Dr. Watson is always watching from the outside because Holmes gives him several opportunities to shine by asking his opinions on certain things before giving him the answer. Also, when Dr. Watson is alone “thinking-aloud” about a case, he has a chance to shine and solve a case, yet he seems to give up and wait for Sherlock Holmes to dazzle and shine: “I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation” (Doyle 132-133).

Works Cited: 

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Electronic.

Long blog post–Response #13- Dr.Watson and Dr. Wilson: They owe their lives to their detectives!

While being introduced directly to Sherlock Holmes for the very first time ever (judge me later), I am noticing a lot of similarities between his character and Hugh Laurie’s character, Dr. House. Although Dr. House has been compared to Sherlock Holmes’s characters numerous times, I now am able to see and discuss the distinct similarities myself.  Dr. House is a doctor solving, or detecting, medical conditions and diseases. Each medical case is like a mystery puzzle to him that needs solving, or detecting.

Image Source: http://wallpapersus.com/hugh-laurie/

In Season 1, episode 9 of House, Dr. James Wilson, House’s best friend, tells House that “some doctors have the Messiah complex, they need to save the world. You’ve got the Rubik’s complex, you need to solve the puzzle” (Foster). Throughout the season of House, Dr. Wilson is always telling Dr. House how he takes on cases and becomes so wrapped up in them not to sincerely help people, but because they are puzzles for him to solve. Dr. Wilson reminds me of Dr. Watson. Just as Dr. Watson is a good friend of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Wilson is Dr. House’s good friend.

Image Source: http://screamsheet.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/gregory-house-and-james-wilson-versus-sherlock-holmes-and-john-watson/

 

Image Source: http://insurrbution.blogspot.com/2012/08/everybody-lies.html

A critical distinction I would like to introduce that I do not believe any critic has pointed out about Dr. Wilson, which is similar to Dr. Watson, is that they both were saved by their detectives. Follow me please while I lay this out. In the beginning of A Study of Scarlet by Sir Authur Conan Doyle, Dr. Watson has nothing after leaving the military: “I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air-or as free as an income of eleven shillings and six-pence a day will permit a man to be” (Doyle 14-15). Dr. Watson was living in the slums of London, and decided to move in order to “make a complete alteration” (Doyle 15) in his way of living. After meeting an old companion, he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes, a man looking for a roommate at a very affordable price. Had Sherlock Holmes not “seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms” with Dr. Watson, Dr. Watson probably would have went back to the slums of London. Sherlock Holmes saw something in Dr. Watson, who was a stranger that intrigued him and interested him enough to save him, just like Dr. House saved Dr. Wilson. In Season 5, episode 4 of House, the puzzle of how Dr. House and Dr. Wilson came to be such close friends is solved:

While mulling the matter over at a bar, he got upset with a doctor who kept playing Billy Joel’s “Leave A Tender Moment Alone” on the jukebox. He got into an altercation and hurled a glass into an antique mirror. He was soon arrested and taken to jail. However, he was soon rescued by a doctor who had also been at the convention who had been following him around, Gregory House. House became intrigued with Wilson when he saw him carrying around a parcel from a divorce attorney all weekend without opening it. He followed him to the bar and bailed him out of jail. They spent the rest of the weekend drinking together and soon became fast friends. (Egan, Doris, and David Foster)

Dr. House became intrigued with Dr. Wilson, who was a stranger at the time, and ended up saving him by bailing him out of jail. Had Dr. House not bailed Dr. Wilson out of jail, one can only wonder how his medical career would have turned out. In the episode, which I highly recommend watching, the Sherriff says to Dr. House: “This guy was a total stranger to you and you bailed him out?” (Egan, Doris, and David Foster). Dr. Wilson was a stranger to Dr. House, yet he bailed him out of jail and also accepted him into his home, work, and life. Dr. Watson was a stranger to Sherlock Holmes, yet Holmes took a risk and accepted Dr. Watson into his home, work, and life. In response to the Sherriff’s question, Dr. House replied, “It was a boring convention. I had to have somebody to drink with” (Egan, Doris, and David Foster). The fact that “Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms” (Doyle 29) with Dr. Watson also raises the idea that maybe he too was bored, and could instantly sense that Dr. Watson would be the perfect fit for his lifestyle.

Image Source: http://www.javiderios.com/?tag=sherlock-holmes

 

Works Cited: 

Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study In Scarlet. N.p.: Ward Lock &, 1887. Electronic.

Egan, Doris, and David Foster. House. Dir. David Platt. Fox. 14 Oct. 2008. Television.

Foster, David. House. Dir. Frederick K. Keller. Fox. 1 Feb. 2005. Television.

 

Long Blog Post–Response #8- Penelope: The Mean-Girl?

Although the ending was spoiled for me, I was still surprised that Penelope was not found guilty. From the moment I was introduced to her, I immediately suspected she would be the person found guilty of stealing the jewel in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. When readers are first introduced to Penelope in chapter two by her father, Gabriel Betteredge, he is discussing her upbringing: “I have written to very poor purpose of my lady, if you require to be told that my little Penelope was taken care of, under my good mistress’s own eye, and was sent to school and taught, and made a sharp girl, and promoted, when old enough, to be Miss Rachel’s own maid” (Collins 18-19).Penelope was raised almost, if not exactly, with the same upbringing as Miss Rachel. They both were raised by Lady Verinder and received a good education, which was a common thing of the upper-class and some of the middle-class members of society.

Image Source: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Moonstone/First_Period/Chapter_XI

Thinking of Ronald Knox’s first commandment, “The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow,” after the mentioning Penelope’s upbringing, I assumed she would be found guilty at the end of the book. I assumed Penelope would be guilty of stealing the jewel out of jealously. Penelope and Miss Rachel were raised in the same manner; however, they were not on the same. Miss Rachel would always be of higher status than Penelope, and the fact that she had to be the maid of someone she felt she was raised to model and who was like a sister to her, would definitely be motive for theft, and murder, had Miss Rachel ended up dead in the book. Also, the fact that Miss Rachel was to receive such an expensive jewel for her birthday was a reason I believed Penelope to be jealous. Here was Miss Rachel, her peer and “sister,” getting treated like royalty and being the eye of Mr. Franklin Blake’s affection, while Penelope herself was considered “the help,” with presumably a crush on Mr. Franklin Blake after he kissed her.

Image Source: http://cudem.vn/5-bi-kip-phot-lo-su-gato-de-thanh-cong/

 

However, reading further into the novel, this proved not to be true. Penelope was a loyal servant to the Verinder Family, and there was not much, if anything at all, in the book to suggest that Penelope was raging with jealousy of Miss Rachel.

Image Source: http://anextraordinarylifenow.com/90-days-of-gratitude-day-68/

Going by the detection club’s oath, “Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence or Act of God?”, I made a common “feminine intuition” about Penelope being jealous. I assumed that just because Miss Rachel was of higher status and receiving a valuable jewel, that Penelope would be jealous of Miss Rachel, instead of happy for her.  Although I was wrong about Penelope being guilty, it was refreshing to be reminded that not all women are jealous individuals who are in a better situation than them; however, I cannot help but wonder what Penelope would have done had Mr. Franklin Blake, or another character in the story, approached her with promises of love, affection, and the jewel, if she assisted with murdering Miss Rachel.

Image Source: https://www.cps10bad.fr/equipedeux-sur-le-divan/

 

 

 

 

Response 9: Short Blog Post: Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin: The Sociopaths?

There was a moment in The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins that gave me chills. It was a moment that unfortunately refreshed my memory of several murders I read about during my childhood. Majority of these murders were acts that were committed by individuals because they were bored or “curious” to know how it felt to murder someone. In The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, Gabriel Betteredge discusses the strange behavior of Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin Blake, which in my mind, were some of the traits of a sociopath: “Sociopathy or antisocial personality disorder is defined as mental health condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others” (“Sociopath Traits.” ). Although there is not nearly enough information in the book to suggest Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin were indeed sociopaths, there is information in the book to relate their behavior to several other sociopathic crimes.

Readers are briefly introduced to the activity Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin participated in because they were bored: “On the twenty-ninth of the month, Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin hit on a new method of working their way together through the time which might otherwise have hung heavy on their hands” (Collins 78). In order to pass the time until her birthday, Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin participated in an activity many psychologists today say is a warning sign of sociopathic and/or psychopathic behavior in children, which is the harming of animals. In his article, “When Children Abuse Animals,” Dr. Phil states that “studies show that acts of cruelty toward animals are the first signs of violent pathology that includes human victims”(McGraw). The fact that Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin would “catch newts, and beetles, and spiders, and frogs, and come home and stick pins through the miserable wretches, or cut them up, without a pang of remorse . . .” (Collins 78) was definitely an early sociopathic sign, especially since they felt no remorse.

The picture below is a symbolic representation of Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin’s alarming activity out of boredom. The picture below is of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, murderers of James Burgler. I remember reading about the murder of two-year old James Burgler by Venables and Thompson, both ten. Being around the age of twelve-years old, I could not phantom in my mind why two kids would murder a toddler. But, one, including me now, could argue that the two boys were bored, especially since they “. . . had been stealing things all day at the shopping center — candy, a troll doll, some batteries, a can of blue paint, and other incidentals” (Scott), and possibly wondered what it would be like to kill someone, and thus murdered someone because they were bored and out of curiosity. Again, although completely different from Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin’s situation, the in-depth summary Betteredge discusses their odd, alarming activity led me to compare their activity to the activities of sociopaths, and how in some cases, being bored can lead to dangerous activities (let’s not forget about the fairly recent death of the Australian baseball player, Christopher Lane, who was murdered as he jogged because his killers were “bored”).

The video footage is of two-year-old- James Bulger being led away to his gruesome torture and death by two ten-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, in England.

 

 

Works Cited (with links):

Note: If the link does not automatically direct you to the site, copy and paste the link in your address bar. Also, refer to my Works Cited page for all images’ citations. Thank you, and my apologies for the inconvenience. 

Collins, Wilkie. “Chapter VIII.” The Moonstone. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1955. 78-79. Print.

McGraw, Phil. “Dr. Phil.com – Advice – When Children Abuse Animals.” Dr. Phil.com – Advice – When Children Abuse Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2014.   

Scott, Shirley L. “Death of James Bulger.” The Murder of James Bulger — — Crime Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2014.   

“Sociopath Traits.” Sociopath Traits | MD-Health.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2014.   

 

 

Response 3- Long Blog

 Talking about Detective Fiction makes for an interesting read. P.D. James is a magnificent, credible writer who has produced a lot of popular works. In this post, I will discuss and argue against one major thing that surprised me in Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James and relate it to Sula by Toni Morrison and the ending of P.D. James’s book. The first surprising, yet informative bit of information I learned from James’s book was the fact that some thought the genre would not flourish because there was not a detective force around. In Talking About Detective Fiction, James writes that:

Some historians of the genre claim that the detective story proper, which fundamentally is concerned with the bringing of order out of disorder and the restoration of peace after the destructive eruption of murder, could not exist until society had an official detective force, which in England would be in 1842, when the detective department of the Metropolitan Police came into being. (James 13)

The fact that some historians believed that detective fiction would not prosper because there were not any detective forces established at the time was very surprising and baffling to me. It was almost as if the historians that felt that way had never dreamed before. Although a detective force was not in existence, people still were capable enough to enjoy some good detective fiction and imagine what it would be like if they had detectives around. Reading detective fiction would give the people something to hope for, just as religion gave slaves something to hope. In Sula by Toni Morrison, the area called “the Bottom” was an area the slaves believed to be close to Heaven, so they desired to live there; however, it was anything but that. Morrison writes:

A joke. A nigger joke. That was the way it got started. Not the town, of course, but that part of town where the Negroes lived, the part they called the Bottom in spite of the fact that it was up in the hills. Just a nigger joke. The kind white folks tell when the mill closes down and they’re looking for a little comfort somewhere. The kind colored folks tell on themselves when the rain doesn’t come, or comes for weeks, and they’re looking for a little comfort somehow. (Morrison 19)

The land the slaves believe to be good was actually bad and not close to heaven at all. It was sort of a reverse psychology method the masters used to trick the slaves. Of course, one could argue that the slaves knew the Bottom was full of false hope; yet, they clung on to the imagination as a means of hope for a better life one day, and to escape the struggles and hard conditions they were in. Just as the slaves used their imagination and representation of the Bottom for hope to get them through their daily struggles, readers in England read detective fiction as an excitement mean to hope that one day their town would too be filled with the brave detectives they read about, which transitions me to the conclusion of my post.

The ending of Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James was written marvelously. P.D. James summed up so well what detective fiction does for a person, why it has lasted so long, and why it will continue to last. In the beginning of the last chapter of Talking About Detective Fiction, James writes that “the classical detective story is the most paradoxical of the popular literary forms. The story has at its heart the crime of murder, often in its most horrific and violent form, yet we read the novels primarily for entertainment, a comforting, even cosy relief from the anxieties, problems and irritations of everyday life” (James 175). Detective fiction is read as an escape and relief from the world around us. It’s the same cathartic feeling I discussed when comparing Knox’s Ten Commandments to Aristotle’s theories for a basic tragedy (in my second Facebook response). After reading detective fiction, readers are relieved of the struggles they are facing in their actual lives. Readers are cleansed of the negative emotions within and rejuvenated from reading detective fiction.

R4- Short Blog

The structure of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is one that is very familiar. The structure reminded me of the structure in Journey to the West by Wu Cheng-en. At the end of several chapters in Journey to the West, after telling a story, there are lines that are intended to feed into readers’ emotions of excitement, in order to keep readers interested and reading. For example, in chapter one, readers are introduced to a monkey who has become King after accepting and winning a challenge. As he ages, he ponders his future: “Although I’m happy now,” the Monkey King replied, “I’m worried about the future. That’s what’s getting me down” (Cheng-en 10). The Monkey King, at this point, is over two hundred years old and is having what society would call now, a “mid-life crisis.” The Monkey King became curious, even frightened, about his soul belonging to the “King of Hell” after death, and thus went out on a quest to find the secret that would keep him out of hell.

Image Source: http://toonpiks.com/author/spicemustflogmail-com/

At the end of chapter one, Cheng-en writes, “If you want to know what success he had in cultivating his conduct, you must listen to the explanation in the next installment” (Cheng-en 21). All of the following chapters end with a similar line that intrigues readers enough to finish reading, in order to find out what happens next. In The Moonstone, Collins paved the way for this “cliff-hanger ending” structure. In the first two-three chapters of the first story, readers get a similar ending that is bait to keep readers interested and reading. When Gabriel Betteredge is recounting the events that took place leading up to the disappearance of The Moonstone, Betteredge establishes himself as an unreliable narrator by taking too long to get to the actual account. For example, at the end of chapter one in the first story, Betteredge informs readers that he will start over with recounting the events, with the best of his memory. At the end of the second chapter in the first story, Betteredge once again has fallen short to his task at hand: “Nothing that I know of, except for you to keep your temper, and for me to begin it all over again for the third time” (Collins 56). Collins used the “cliff-hanger ending” structure of engaging readers into the text. On a personal level, I think this is a good writing strategy because I was interested and curious to read whether or not Betteredge would finally get it right the fourth time or not, as well as what would happen next on the Monkey’s journey in Journey to the West.

Image Source: http://bo-i-usa.blogspot.com/2014/06/fargerna-betyder-faktiskt-nagot.html