In detective fiction, authors create chaos, which they balance with a sense of structure and reason. They implement many elements to entice the reader to continue with the detective on his quest to solve the riddle and defeat the chaos, which can be divided into two sections: noticeable chaos and silent chaos. Noticeable chaos includes elements such as murder and thievery, obvious aspects of detective fiction that make the reader cringe. Silent chaos, on the other hand, includes locked rooms and settings; things that make the reader shiver because they have no idea why it is affecting them so much. Authors use these different elements to support common themes that are woven into many different works of detective fiction. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Jacques Futrelle’s “The Problem of Cell 13” each support the theme of isolation in detective fiction. Throughout detective fiction, isolation instills the silent chaos and fear of separation into society.
One element of detective fiction that authors use to create isolation and implement silent chaos is the locked room element. In many detective stories characters are placed in locked rooms or locations where there seems to be no way in or out. One of society's biggest fears is being alone or in solitude; the locked room element plays up this fear in the readers and in the characters making them feel as though nothing good happens in the locked room. One locked room that readers are introduced to is Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. While Dr. Jekyll is in his laboratory, he is separated from everyone else, an...
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...es every persons heart. Whether it be a locked room, an animalistic personality, or a setting which removes the reader from reality, isolation is used to embody silent chaos. The theme of isolation is prevalent in many works of detective fiction, and it imprints upon the reader the silent fear that creeps up in the dead of night and does not go away.
Works Cited
Doyle, Arthur Conan. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. Detective Fiction: Crime and Compromise. Eds. Dick Allen and David Chacko. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974. 101-120. Print.
Futrelle, Jacques. “The Problem of Cell 13”. Detective Fiction: Crime and Compromise. Eds. Dick Allen and David Chacko. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974. 122-150. Print.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc., 1991. Print.
The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
When reading ghost stories, a common occurrence or idea often takes place in all these stories. This occurrence is the repeated idea of the female character as either the victim of the supernatural occurrence or is the ghostly victim. The female characters are often the victim either in life, death, or both. This idea often coincides with the theme of isolation, as isolation is often a strong factor in the cause of the female character’s often untimely demise. Isolation in the ghost story genre is common as the mental isolation or physical isolation is from society and impacts emotional connection to others. The isolation mentally, physically and in some case both, causes the female character’s ultimate destruction in the end. Isolation is
Bugliosi, Vincent, and Curt Gentry. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. New York: Norton, 1974. Print.
Woolrich reinforced the detective fictions of yesterday, introducing to the American audience new detectives, who not only wheels a gun but also uses their knowledge of psychoanalysis to catch the perpetrator and solve the crime. Though Woolrich extends his knowledge of the human mind, he, just like MacDonald, Chandler and Hammett gives reference to 18th-century authors which include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe.
...r Conan Doyle loathed writing Sherlock Holmes. He would write the wrong name for major reoccurring characters and not care if the reasoning in his stories was completely illogical, yet he ironically created his own genre of mystery novels that are recognized even to those who have never read them. Doyle unwillingly created the most insane fanbase that is still alive and thriving today. Doyle’s stories are still popular even eighty-four years after his death because they keep readers enthralled with the story. He wrote war stories based on his own exciting experiences, stories that he believed brought him to the height of his writing capabilities, and stories that sent him crashing back down when a frenzy into Spiritualism crumbled his prestige as a writer. His stories manage to capture the reader’s attention, making them timeless classics in the world of literature.
The idea of a detective catching an elusive convict or solving an improbable crime has been prevalent in all corners of the world, spread throughout many cultures and societies. The detective genre is held as the idea that an individual has to solve a crime. This detective usually has nothing to gain from solving the crime, but they see it more as an obstacle. The detective doesn’t always take every case, as human beings, we are too often curious of the impossible; our natural instinct is to question why and how things work in this world. People crave mystery, to taste a bit of improbable, to see what the detectives see, to see what is overlooked by many. The idea of an intelligent witty, sharp “sleuth” with an obedient sidekick has been prevalent
By doing things, we learn who we are and we learn our worth as a person. The two things solitary confinement does are make people solitary and idle” (Sifferlin, Alexandra). Isolation and confinement remove prisoners’ ability to perform significant tasks and act as a part of society.
Page, Norman. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson." Encyclopedia of the Novel. Eds. Paul Schellinger, Christopher Hudson, and Marijke Rijsberman. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998.
Melnick, Jeffrey. "The Night Witch Did It": Villainy and Narrative in the Leo Frank Case. American Literary History, Vol. 12, No. 1/2 (Spring - Summer, 2000), pp. 113-129
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.
Stevenson focuses on two different characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in reality these are not separate men, they are two different aspects of one man’s reality. In the story, Dr. Je...
Stevenson Robert L., Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales. (USA: oxford university press, 2008)
The magnificent story the “Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle takes you on a mysterious journey through England. The main character Sherlock Holmes and his acquaintance Dr. Watson will uncover the mystery presented to them by Helen Stoner. The detectives will unearth clues and meet foes, one no other than Dr. Grimsby Roylott. Helen, one of the protagonists in the mystery, seeks out assistance from the forever righteous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. She fears for her life with her appending wedding as well as seriously question the death of her sister, Julia Stoner. Sherlock Holmes accepts the case. He sets out in England in 1883 from Baker Street all the way to the Stoke Moran. This mystery will leave twists and turns
Stevenson, Robert L. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Norton Anthology of