“Every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.” (-John Buchan) The detective story, full of mystery and intrigue, has held the attention of readers since the beginning of the age of novels. People like to play detective; the rush and thrill of mental stimulation are traits men praise. But what makes each series famous, and so endears it to the public is its detective. The English novelists G.K. Chesterton and Ellis Peters have each crafted a detective story and series, and all of it hinges upon their own distinct detective. The detectives- Father Brown and Brother Cadfael- are similar, both monks, but different completely in mannerisms, beliefs, and styles. We will examine the differences between each detectives’ crime-solving skill set, why each man solves crime, and how each views mankind.
Chesterton creates a detective –Father Brown- who solves crimes inductively rather than deductively. "You see, I had murdered them all myself... I had planned out each of the crimes very carefully. I had thought out exactly how a thing like that could be done, and in what style or state of mind a man could really do it. And when I was quite sure that I felt exactly like the murderer myself, of course I knew who he was." (-Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton, 'The Secret of Father Brown') He uses the nature of man to solve crimes, ending with a dramatic reveal at the end of each mystery. As a detective, for readers, he strikes as rather unassuming; dropping no hints and leaving no traces behind as clues to solve the crimes. Peters, however, wrote into life a detective who solves crimes through deductive reasoning. He gleans clues and forms theories from each scene along with the reader. As a result, the ending is often q...
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...d miserable, but what man did with himself, for better or worse, determined his quality.
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” (― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles) Each author crafted a series with a distinctly individualistic style. Chesterton’s calm rationality and endeavoring eruditeness created a detective who solves crimes by his devilish knowledge of man’s tendencies. Meanwhile, Peter’s innate suspicion and driving burden to question everything forged a detective who shrewdly recognizes inconsistencies within accounts, allowing him to complete cases with ease. Each detective utilized the unique skills and knowledge God gave them to solve the puzzles set before them, and that is what has made their series last over time.
Works Cited
Ellis Peters, A Morbid Taste for Bones
Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton
Next, In the majority of the stories he is portrayed as a person who shows a great passion for crime along with Holmes. Although, intellectually he can not compete and always seems to become second best; "Holmes," I cried, " I seem to see dimly what you are hinting At. We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible Crime."
A detective story is a genre of fiction in which a person attempts to solve a crime. The detective may be a professional or an amateur, and generally has nothing to gain from solving the crime. However in Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”, the main character Oedipus is not only determined to solve a crime, but he is also in pursuit to find his own identity. This is similar to Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia” where Sherlock Holmes has been hired to work as a detective in return for monetary compensation. Both situations enable Oedipus and Sherlock to gain from unraveling the mysteries that sweep their towns hence making these stories different from most detective stories.
This article describes the search for pattern in the detective process which is metaphorically represented by the abbey's library. William's misconception of the importance of the clues leads him to realize that although clues are meant to help to get at the truth of matters, they do not necessarily fall into a pattern that leads to the truth. Like there is no correct way to go through a labyrinth to its centre, there is no correct way to follow clues and signs to the truth. In the end, although the murderer is discovered, trying to link all the clues to lead him to a final answer, William is led astray in his investigation.
“Crime myths are powerful constructions of reality because they speak to our personal values and beliefs and are steeped in rich symbolism, which reinforces those values and belief.” (Kappeler & Potter, 2004) Crime myths are created when a series of fictional events that are later altered so that they become social and political problems. The media plays a major role in the creation of crime myths they broadcast images and videos to go along with the crime myths, they also use social context that play on humans thought on the community seeing it as unsafe. Myths also contain some measure of economic conditions that then cause reactions by politicians to create new laws to prevent these myths from becoming major problems in the criminal justice system. (K&P, 2004) In order for a statement to be characterized as a crime myth, if the crimes instill fear and threaten the vast majority of society. (K&P,2004) Crime myths are made up of components that targets and identify of a distinct deviant population, they involve innocent and helpless victims, the emergence of brave and virtuous hearos ,comes as a threat to peoples established norms, values, or traditional lifestyles.
Mysteries have always held great fascination for the human mind, not least because of the aura that surrounds them and the realm of the Unknown into which they delve. Coupled with the human propensity of being particularly curious about aspects which elude the average mind, the layer of intrigue that glosses over such puzzles makes for a heady combination of the literary and the popular. In the canon of detective fiction worldwide, no detective has tickled the curious reader’s imagination and held it in thrall as much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The 221-B, Baker Street, London ‘amateur’ detective combines a rare blend of intellectual prowess and sharp wit to crack a series of baffling riddles.
The birth of classic detective fiction was originated just in the mid nineteenth century, and was producing its own genre. Classical detective fiction follows a set of rules called the ‘Ten commandments of detective fiction’. The genre is so popular it can bee seen by the number of sales in any good book stores. Many of these books have been created a long time ago and there is still a demand for these types of books. The popularity is still ongoing because it provides constant entertainment, and also the reader can also have a role of detective trying to solve the crime/case committed. Classical detective fiction has a formula, the detective story starts with a seemingly irresolvable mystery, typically a murder, features the astute, often unconventional detective, a wrongly accused suspect to whom the circumstantial evidence points, and concludes with a startling or unexpected solution to the mystery, during which the detective explains how he or she solved the mystery. Formula that includes certain elements such as, a closed location to keep the number of suspects down, red hearings spread around the stories to keep the reader entertained yet interacted.
It is very interesting to note how the conventions of 1940’s hardboiled private eye fiction translate into the 1970’s. The low-rent drabness of the genre loses much of its allure. The dark shadows and long nights of urban Los Angeles become the bright lights and warm sunshine of Malibu beaches. The detective’s normally snappy dialogue turns into joking asides. Marlowe’s hardboiled narration becomes the self-conscious mutterings of a lonely man talking to himself. The romantic myth of a man set apart from the city is turned on its head as a pathetic man living alone with his cat.
Hard-boiled detective fiction sets the scene for a cold and harsh reality. Dashiell Hammett’s, “The Girl with The Silver Eyes” is no exception to this rule. In this short story Hammett paints a picture of a brutally realistic urban center filled with characters that not many people would want to call friends. The realistic qualities of Hammett’s story are drawn from his own life’s experience working as a Pinkerton detective. The detective in “The Girl With The Silver Eyes” works for the Continental Detective Agency and is, therefore, known simply as the Continental Op. In the beginning of the story the Op professes, “a detective, if he is wise, takes pains to make and keep as many friends as possible among transfer company, express company and railroad employees” (27). This paper will examine this philosophy of the Continental Op, how he employs this approach to detective work and uncover if this approach is beneficial or disadvantageous.
Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous fictional characters in literary history is a detective capable of solving the most complex mysteries. The author behind the character, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a very successful British writer. The majority of his literary success is due to his crime-fiction tales such as the Sherlock Holmes series. However, Mr. Doyle and Mr. Holmes himself must not take all the credit because there is another character that plays a major role in the stories success. He goes by the name of Dr. Watson, Holmes’ sidekick. The importance of Dr. Watson is evident in many of Doyle’s stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia and A Study in Scarlett.
An examination of Sherlock Holmes' abilities and techniques. allied to his personal characteristics, enable him to solve crimes. There are many reasons to explain why Sherlock Holmes is one of the world's most famous fictional detectives. However, the main reason for This is that not only are the stories complex, but the actual character of Sherlock Holmes has extreme depth, with some subtle. elements of his character only becoming apparent when he is in certain situations.
There is one immensely popular figure in Victorian literature that uses scientific deduction to solve criminal mysteries, and his curiosity to solve mysteries has become his obsession. However, he is so cool and distant from his own emotions that he does not care if the obsession leads to his destruction, as long as he solves the mystery to appease his voracious mind first. The only thing that truly excites him in a passionate way, the one thing that causes any emotion within his cool demeanor, is his curiosity, which is his addiction, for solving mysteries. He is the hero of the story The Sign of Four, and his name, of course, is Sherlock Holmes.
The detective story is a tale that features a mystery and/or the commission of a crime, emphasizing the search for a solution. It distinguishes itself from other forms of fiction by the fact that it is a puzzle. The detective story did not just spring into being in its current form, but rather, evolved over time. The first true detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe. Many writers and critics have plainly stated that he is the inventor of detective fiction. Poe introduces one of the most basic elements of the detective story, which is the presentation of clues for his readers. This idea becomes very important in all subsequent works of detective fiction. That is, in all such fiction, all of the clues are available for the reader and the detective to solve the crime (usually murder), and at the end of the story, the reader should be able to look back on the clues and realize that he could have solved the mystery. A detective story in which the solution is suddenly revealed to the reader in considered bad form.
Now, let us look at “The Speckled Band” there is no doubt that it is a
...e appeared over thirty stories.He takes help in solving crime from one of his friend who is known as Boswell, who is represented as a great observer. He is also assisted by excellent Ajit Banerjee who is highly influenced by the character of Dr. Watson. The mysteries, in this sequence seems to be both peculiar and satisfying to reader.
...t-out and cunning crime will not go unpunished. This notion plays on the idea that good always wins. An idea this simple is easy to overlook, but can have profound results. Subconsciously the reader takes in that “good always wins” and this will in turn reduce/lower their desires for doing evil. So by having the detective always solve the case, which happens in virtually all of detective fiction, the reader is left more fulfilled and less likely to commit a crime themselves.