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| writers like Poe, Doyle, Christie | writers like Hammett, Chandler, Ellroy |
| detectives like Sherlock Holmes | detectives like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe |
| mystery starts out complexly, finishes simply | mystery starts out simply, finishes complexly |
| seemingly disperate clues fit together into a clear pattern by the end | simple beginning leads to more clues, more characters, and an overwhelming pattern by the end |
| one villain is guilty at the end | everyone is guilty of something |
| wide cast of characters all have motives, but only one did crime | wide cast of characters all have a motives, and everyone contributes to the crime |
| incredibly smart, detached detective restores momentarily disturbed order | flawed detective seeks out small justice, but discovers world is too complicated |
| detective just likes puzzles, solves mysteries for pleasure | detective is intimately involved in the mystery; is either paid, or is seeking out something about his or her identity |
| detective's own identity is never threatened | detective is unsure of his or her identity by the end |
| detective uses reason, science, fact, math, logic, common sense | detective uses guts, instincts, emotion, intuition, fallible feelings |
| detective works with, but is smarter than, authority (cops, adults) | detective is rebellious against autority; tries to solve mystery before or instead of autority |
| authority is righteous at end; takes away villain | authority is corrupt; institutions cannot be trusted |
| the solution of the mystery reveals the order inherent in the world (very conservative) | the lack of real solution at the end of the mystery reveals complications in the world (very progressive) |
| told in a straightforward way, often by an admiring foil (Watson) representing us | often told in first person narrative to reveal the flaws of the detective, such as how little he or she knows |
| mystery is a page-turner, driven by a tension to solve the mystery | mystery is more reflective about itself, and how we make meaning of the world |
| setting is ofen in a single place, such as a parlor, a mansion, a boat, a train | setting is often in large spaces, such as cities |
| often set in the country, in rich Gothic mansions | often set in the corrupt City, in a poor urban landscape |
| mystery involves movement downwards into basements and caves to represent delving deeper into secrets | mystery involves similar types of geographic movement, but represents delving into the self, into tighter confining spaces |
| mystery longs for and calls forth the Past, where things were better | set in the present, concerned with modern problems |
| villain is clearly evil | villain is often someone familiar |
| villain is something clearly foreign | villain is Uncanny, an extension of the Self |
| comes out of the Modern Tradition, where we beleive science can know the world, and put things in clear patterns | comes out of the Post-Modern Tradition, where patterns of knowing are themselves suspect and flawed |
| mystery is conservative: by defeating villains and solving mysteries, detective makes the world safe and protected again | mystery is progressive: in solving the mystery, detective is changed forever - we too are changed as we see a new world |
Much of this comes from John G. Cawleti's Adventure, Mystery, Romance.
Consult it for further insights.
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN READING A MYSTERY