Detective Fiction
Formulas create the basic structure for a writer to create something original. Think of formulas as recipes for a great mystery. Any one who has eaten home-cooked food has had the experience of variations in basic meals. Chili is chili, yet there are Chili cook-offs were cooks compete under categories like: most original, most unique, and most likely to burn your esophagus. Each cook has a secret twist to their recipe, yet it is all chili. Ice cream is the same. You take the basics (eggs, milk, sugar, ect.) and then add flavors and treats until you come up with vastly different kinds of ice cream. The formula for detective fiction dictates that a crime is committed in a certain and must be solved in a certain way, but the author always adds their distinct secret ingredient to make it surprising, original, and delectable.
Most mysteries fall under one formula, but often writers combine formulas in order to give the plot a fresh, unexpected twist.
Most mysteries fall under one formula, but often writers combine formulas in order to give the plot a fresh, unexpected twist.
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be a founding father of detective fiction. His detective, C. Aguste Dupin, and the un-named narrator form the template for many other detectives such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered to be the first locked room formula used in a short story.
Dupin has become the basis for all classical detectives. Just like Dupin, a classical detective relies on observation, analysis, and knowledge to puzzle out the answer to a crime that has letter observant, analytical, and knowledgeable men stumped. In the first two pages of the short story, the narrator outlines and describes the skills that a detective must have in order to solve a mystery. Dupin has them all.
In the story, a terrible double homicide has been committed in Paris. The police are stumped because of the horrific nature of the murders and the apparent ability of the two suspects to seem to disappear from the locked crime scene. Dupin and the Narrator go to the scene, observe the room and the bodies, go home, and the next day Dupin tells the narrator to get a gun because he is expecting the culprit to arrive any minute. How did Dupin figure it out? Observation and analysis, of course. And poor Dupin is forced to explain everything to the dumbfounded narrator.
Dupin has become the basis for all classical detectives. Just like Dupin, a classical detective relies on observation, analysis, and knowledge to puzzle out the answer to a crime that has letter observant, analytical, and knowledgeable men stumped. In the first two pages of the short story, the narrator outlines and describes the skills that a detective must have in order to solve a mystery. Dupin has them all.
In the story, a terrible double homicide has been committed in Paris. The police are stumped because of the horrific nature of the murders and the apparent ability of the two suspects to seem to disappear from the locked crime scene. Dupin and the Narrator go to the scene, observe the room and the bodies, go home, and the next day Dupin tells the narrator to get a gun because he is expecting the culprit to arrive any minute. How did Dupin figure it out? Observation and analysis, of course. And poor Dupin is forced to explain everything to the dumbfounded narrator.
Clues upon Close Observation:
- Non-human hair - Ribbon on the Lightning rod - Spring-operated window sills - Broken Nail in the window sill - Size of the hand print bruised on the daughter's neck - Testimony of the two voices heard in the room Analysis: - Motive: No motive. Dupin rules out robbery, because the bags containing 40,000 francs are still on the floor; and even though the drawers are riffled through, the most valuable things are still present. These women had no enemies, being that they lived a solitary life and barely left the house. - Means: Nobody could have performed the murders in they gruesome way the women were found. How could one man shove the daughter up the chimney if it took four men to get her down? How could an average person be able to nearly sever the head of the mother with just a razor? How could a man leave a hand print that big? - Opportunity: The room was locked, so who would have been able to get in and out with apparent ease? |
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Formula: The Locked Room
Definition: A crime is committed in a room, sealed from the inside or under constant scrutiny.
The questions that must be answered are: How could the culprit get in, commit the crime, and then escape? Edgar Allan Poe is credited with the first locked room scenario in the short story, "Murders in the Rue Morgue," but many mystery writers have used this formula since. The ideas behind the locked room mystery are very much grounded in the 19th century's fascination and belief in the Scientific method. This idea, as Poe demonstrates in the first two pages of his short story, is that through observation and analytical thinking, any mystery can be untangled into one logically explained series of events. All doors, walls, and floors are solid and impenetrable. There are no ghosts or magic. Also, crossing the moral line between socially acceptable behavior and crime was though to be explained by three predetermined causes: 1. Economics 2. Childhood Trauma 3. Genetics |
"The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr," by William Brittain
In this story, Edgar decides to emanate his idol, the mystery novelist John Dickson Carr, by committing a locked room murder that would be worthy of a mystery novel. He would have pulled it off too, except for one very important detail: he forgot to lock the door.
In Brittain's story we can see the use of means, motive, and opportunity as Edgar schemes to commit the perfect crime (one that he cannot be found guilty for). We know he has a motive to kill his uncle (excluding Edgar from his will), and so does his uncle's lawyer and doctor. We also know that he is a grown man who is physically able to kill his uncle. So in order for Edgar to get away with murder he must cast doubt on his opportunity to commit the murder by creating a locked room scenario. If he couldn't have gotten in or out of the room, how could he have killed his uncle? All of his preparations where to prove that he did not have the opportunity to kill his uncle. He cleaned the chimney, and wore all white clothes. He hid the sword in the corner. He got the chemical paper to light a fire after he escaped through the chimney. All this was so that the two witnesses could not possibly place him at the scene of the crime regardless of his obvious motive or means. Yet all of his efforts were futile, being that he forgot to lock the door.
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Formula: Only One Among You
In life, the possibility of harm seems limitless. The fact that at any moment we could be caught up in a robbery, mugged, or injured in a series of events that have no connection to us is frightening. In life, we could simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In literature though, the possibilities are limited to the characters in the book. The connections are displayed in a sensible manor so that the reader knows the story behind what might seem to be a person in the wrong place at the wrong time. In literature, the randomness of unlimited possibility is then limited to a finite number of understandable possibilities.
An early example of an Only One Among You formula is King Solomon and his ruling with the two women claiming the same baby. The women lived together and both had infants of the same age. One mother accidentally rolled over in her sleep and smothered her baby. She then switched her dead child with the others living child. Both women claimed to be the mother of the living child. In this story there is a finite possibility of who could have smothered her child. There is not the possibility of a third person coming in and doing a crime. It had to be one of the women. So when Solomon said to cut the baby in two, he knew that the true mother would never want her child to die, so the other woman who was willing to cut the baby in two couldn't be the real mother.
Only One Among You Definition: A crime has been committed in a sealed off location where none of the suspects could have left and no other suspects could have entered, so one of them must be the criminal.
This is the mirror image of the Locked Room formula, in that instead of all culprits being locked out of the crime scene, all possible culprits are locked in. Because all suspects had the opportunity to commit the crime, the detective must focus on the motives and means in order to find the culprit through the process of elimination.
An early example of an Only One Among You formula is King Solomon and his ruling with the two women claiming the same baby. The women lived together and both had infants of the same age. One mother accidentally rolled over in her sleep and smothered her baby. She then switched her dead child with the others living child. Both women claimed to be the mother of the living child. In this story there is a finite possibility of who could have smothered her child. There is not the possibility of a third person coming in and doing a crime. It had to be one of the women. So when Solomon said to cut the baby in two, he knew that the true mother would never want her child to die, so the other woman who was willing to cut the baby in two couldn't be the real mother.
Only One Among You Definition: A crime has been committed in a sealed off location where none of the suspects could have left and no other suspects could have entered, so one of them must be the criminal.
This is the mirror image of the Locked Room formula, in that instead of all culprits being locked out of the crime scene, all possible culprits are locked in. Because all suspects had the opportunity to commit the crime, the detective must focus on the motives and means in order to find the culprit through the process of elimination.
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The Hard-boiled Detective
Raymond Chandler coined the term "hard-boiled detective" for the kind of detective that emerged as the opposite of the classic detective forefathers in the Detective Fiction Genre.
The Classic Detectives: (i.e. Holmes and Dupin) - They always have the necessary knowledge at hand to solve the crime. - These detectives are highly educated and genteel - The mysteries they solve often deal with the upper classes in locations like private estates, balls, and society gatherings. - They seem motivated to solve the crime by only the satisfaction of finding the solution. - It can seem that their only purpose is to solve crimes with the help of a right hand man/sidekick, and that very little else happens in their lives. - They have a very calculating, scientific, and analytical approach in order to solve the crime in a cerebral way so that they would have to explain their deductions to the lesser minded police and sidekicks. - Very few loose ends to tie up in order to explain and solve the crime. The Hard-Boiled Detective: - They approach the mystery haphazardly, often knowing very little about the crime or the situation. - They rely on a gut instinct rather than scientific method - They take a "brawn over brains" style of deduction - They focus on the main crime, but often many loose ends of the case still exist after the mystery has been "solved." - They exist in the gritty underworld, often set in big cities with the lowliest of people. - The majority of the characters are criminals. - The detectives are not gentlemen solving the mystery for the mere fun of mental gymnastics, these are private investigators, police men, spies, and hired guns.
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"Busted Blossoms"
In "Busted Blossoms," Toby Peters is a hard-boiled detective. He is a tough private detective who is working to protect some of the lowliest people in the film industry. D.W. Griffith hires Peters because of the death threats he received, due to his racist films. All the characters are despicable, washed up, low-lifes. There's a comedian who isn't funny, a brainless leading man, an aged beauty, a tarnished director, and a un-successful producer. We even know that the detective isn't so great because he was asleep when the murder was committed.
"Busted Blossoms" is also a Only One Among You mystery because only one of the guests at the table could have killed Sikes. It couldn't have been Toby Peters (he was sleeping in another room), it couldn't have been Mrs. Winters (she was in the Kitchen), and it couldn't have been Sikes himself (because a man would be hard pinched to kill himself by stabbing himself in his own back), so it has to be either: - Denise Giles: Actress - Marty Korites: Producer - James Vann: Actor - Lew Dollard: Comedian Characters already ruled out: - Toby Peters - D.W. Griffith - Mrs. Windless - Sikes: Financial Baker and victim Toby Peters and D.W. Griffith figure out the murder with classic hard-boiled style. Peters is reluctant and haphazard at his approach, often taunting the suspects and longing to hand the whole mess over to the police. Griffith is more "brains" based, because it is he who notices that the knife that was in Sikes' neck was removed and put into his back. Griffith's natural directing instincts lead him to realize that a scene has been played for him. Toby is able to man-handle the answers out of them to the point of a plea bargain. He even punches the fleeing James Vann in order to maintain the suspects until the police get there. |
The Caper
If you've ever watched a movie where one thief steals from an even worse thief, you've watched a caper. Movies like the Ocean's Eleven series, The Italian Job, and stories like Robin Hood all fall under this formula. When the criminal becomes a thieving hero, you have yourself a caper.
Throughout history writer's and audiences have had a soft spot for the criminal and a major interest in how the theft takes place, how the criminal will get away, and how justice will be served. In this formula, the moral line takes a quite flexible view of justice. Take Robin Hood for instance. Normally stealing is wrong; but is it wrong if the the government is failing the people through the over taxation of an illegitimate ruler? When the villain, in this case Prince John, is more evil than that person stealing from them, the petty thief becomes the hero in our twisted sense of justice. So stealing is wrong, unless your stealing from an undeserving, evil villain for a good cause, like to right their wrongs, revenge, or justice outside of the law. The moral comment is that sometimes the underdog doling out comeuppance can replace legal justice so that the audience knows that the bad guy got what they deserved.
Here are the basic qualifications for the Caper:
Throughout history writer's and audiences have had a soft spot for the criminal and a major interest in how the theft takes place, how the criminal will get away, and how justice will be served. In this formula, the moral line takes a quite flexible view of justice. Take Robin Hood for instance. Normally stealing is wrong; but is it wrong if the the government is failing the people through the over taxation of an illegitimate ruler? When the villain, in this case Prince John, is more evil than that person stealing from them, the petty thief becomes the hero in our twisted sense of justice. So stealing is wrong, unless your stealing from an undeserving, evil villain for a good cause, like to right their wrongs, revenge, or justice outside of the law. The moral comment is that sometimes the underdog doling out comeuppance can replace legal justice so that the audience knows that the bad guy got what they deserved.
Here are the basic qualifications for the Caper:
- The normal villain (petty thief) is the hero
- The crime is theft, not murder. It is hard to idealize a murderer.
- There is a righteous pursuer who may or may not catch the thief. Still, the righteous pursuer can identify with and respect the thief.
- The thief is not an evil mastermind (he may be smart, but it's the down to earth quality that helps the audience connect with the thief).
- The focus of the story is how the thief will get in and out successfully, not on how the righteous pursuer will catch them.
- The thief is rarely harmed when their plans are foiled, just a bit of wounded pride at most.
- The Character is charming, clever, and witty so that the audience will like him/her more than the worse villain.
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"Don't Know much About Art," by Simon Brett
So how is "Don't Know Much About Art" a caper? Let me count the ways:
- The normal villain (petty thief) is the hero: In this story, Billy Gorse is the hero. He's a petty criminal and not a very successful one at that. He looms, threatens, and accidentally drives away with the wrong people in the back of his getaway car. Yet, he is less of a criminal than Mr. Loxton and Lord Harbinger; and we can't help but cheer for him as he out-smarts the two crusty, know-it-all blue-bloods.
- The crime is theft, not murder: Billy is hired to steal a painting. He tells us that he won't do murder for hire or mug old ladies, so his crimes seem pretty harmless. Besides, what's the harm in stealing a old painting from a bunch of rich folk?
- There is a righteous pursuer who may or may not catch the thief: Yes and no on this one. There is no police man or private investigator pursuing Billy; but Billy becomes the righteous pursuer when he realizes that he is being set up. He is then the one who must pursue Mr. Loxton and the man he was speaking to in order for himself to survive this deal.
- The thief is not an evil mastermind: Billy is no evil mastermind; but he isn't as daft as he first portrayed himself to be. He describes himself as a type of brainless, blunt object to be used to mindless tasks only; yet he manages to have the painting handed to him as he goes out the door.
- The focus of the story is how the thief will get in and out successfully, not on how the righteous pursuer will catch them: The story, as told by Billy himself, focuses on how he could possibly steal this painting, or at least survive once he stole the painting. His success is his ultimate goal.
- The thief is rarely harmed when their plans are foiled, just a bit of wounded pride at most: Billy and Lord Harbinger are not harmed. Billy seemingly embarrasses himself in front of Lord Harbinger, the other guests, and the staff as the painting falls out of his unzipped suitcase as he walks down the stairs. Lord Harbinger is humiliated in front of his guests as he tries to cover up the insurance scam. Unfortunately, Mr. Loxton gets caught up in his own bombing scheme and dies while trying to drive the bomb-rigged car away from Harbinger Hall.
- The Character is charming, clever, and witty so that the audience will like him/her more than the worse villain. What's not to love about Billy's self deprecating humor?
The Red Herring
Detective fiction writers often include red herrings to distract, confuse, or surprise their readers. A red herring is meant to draw the reader off the correct trail so that they will be surprised when their solution dead-ends and the true solution is revealed. If you think of a twist at the end of a movie, all the clues were there in order for the twist to make sense; but other false clues were there as well to keep you from guessing the twist. False clues add to the surprise of the reader, but they also give credit to the analytical skills of the detective. When the detective is able to solve a mystery that has all the other characters and the reader stumped, that's one good detective!
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Formula: The Armchair Detective
The armchair detective is considered to be the purest form of detective work, because it is solved purely through the intellectual ability of the detective to listen to the clues and find a pattern, solving the puzzle.
The name comes from the earliest stories where a person in distress would bring their puzzle to the un-official detective. This detective is not a detective by trade; yet their ability for solving mysteries is well known in the community. When all the "official" detectives are befuddled, the person in distress finds the unofficial detective, tells them the details of the case, and the unofficial detective solves it without even rising from their armchair.
So really, the armchair detective doesn't need to be seated in an armchair because they could be seated anywhere. The key to this formula is that the detective in not a witness, has never been to the scene of the crime, and has no prior knowledge of the crime, but they are able to solve it based on being told all the facts of the case.
Another important detail: the storyteller is always truthful. In life, the speaker is often subject to forget details, exaggerate, or down-right lie while telling a series of events; but in this formula the person relating the details of the crime tells all of the necessary information without exaggeration or lies. This has to be an accepted truth in order for the detective to solve the mystery.
The name comes from the earliest stories where a person in distress would bring their puzzle to the un-official detective. This detective is not a detective by trade; yet their ability for solving mysteries is well known in the community. When all the "official" detectives are befuddled, the person in distress finds the unofficial detective, tells them the details of the case, and the unofficial detective solves it without even rising from their armchair.
So really, the armchair detective doesn't need to be seated in an armchair because they could be seated anywhere. The key to this formula is that the detective in not a witness, has never been to the scene of the crime, and has no prior knowledge of the crime, but they are able to solve it based on being told all the facts of the case.
Another important detail: the storyteller is always truthful. In life, the speaker is often subject to forget details, exaggerate, or down-right lie while telling a series of events; but in this formula the person relating the details of the crime tells all of the necessary information without exaggeration or lies. This has to be an accepted truth in order for the detective to solve the mystery.
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Agatha Christie: The Queen of Mystery
"The Blue Geranium," by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is one of the most read detective fiction writers. She is a master at plot and has created two of the most widely known detectives: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Miss Marple is the detective in "The Blue Geranium." Miss Marple seems to be a simple, old lady; but that is what makes her so intriguing. She is a sharp witted, observant, and well educated woman who uses her knowledge, observations, and analytical skills to see the pattern that
Characters:
Miss Marple
Mrs. Pritchard
Mr. Pritchard
Jean Instow
Nurse Copling
Nurse Carstairs
Characters:
Miss Marple
Mrs. Pritchard
Mr. Pritchard
Jean Instow
Nurse Copling
Nurse Carstairs
Red HerringsJean Instow:
-Had the conversation about how attractive Mr. Pritchard is and how he would be better off without an invalid wife. -Was suspected by Mrs. Nurse Carstairs: -Was fired by a jealous and suspicious Mrs. Pritchard -Was attractive, young, and had much in common with Mr. Pritchard -Supposedly recommended Zarida Mr. Pritchard: -His wife was extremely difficult and demanding. -He would not allow his wife to leave the house before the 3rd full moon. -He was seen mixing insecticides in the garden shed the afternoon before his wife died. -He was seen giving his wife a glass of warm milk before she went to sleep that fatal night. -Was the prime suspect and was being held by the police. |
CluesZarida:
-Not recommended by Nurse Carstairs -Invalid address -Was familiar to Mrs. Pritchard The Blue flowers: - Red flowers turned blue -Nurses would have knowledge of the testing papers. Smelling Salts: -Cyanide mixed in, so that Mrs. Pritchard ends up killing herself -The fumes from the salts turn the flowers blue. -The gas range was left on to mask the smell of almonds from the cyanide. |
Come into My Parlor
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Think about where this adage applies, and you've found a plot for a Come Into My Parlor story. Get rich quick schemes, shoddy investment plans, free downloads, and anything where your gut tells you that there must be a catch somewhere.
In this formula, the victim unknowingly lured into a trap set by the criminal. Think of a spider and a fly, the spider spins the web as a trap for a fly to accidentally fly into and be ultimately destroyed. In order for this to work, concealed human evil must be revealed by the end of the story.
Plot:
-Characters are drawn in.
-They realize that they have misjudged
-They are destroyed for their error.
The victim in this formula is naive, and the reader identifies with this naivety of the victim; so when the victim is trapped the reader feels trapped as well. The reader should realize exactly how the victim gets duped, and realize that the same could have happened to them self if they had been in the same situation.
In the Come into My Parlor formula, it is understood that the victim is partially at fault. The victim's own vice is the reason that they fall into the trap.
Common Vices:
-Gluttony
-Lechery
-Laziness
-Greed
-Wrath
-Envy
-Deceit
-Expecting kindness where it is not deserved
Human vice leads to a downfall by a criminal who's inner evil is revealed after it's too late for the victim to escape. The moral of the story: if it's seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Think about where this adage applies, and you've found a plot for a Come Into My Parlor story. Get rich quick schemes, shoddy investment plans, free downloads, and anything where your gut tells you that there must be a catch somewhere.
In this formula, the victim unknowingly lured into a trap set by the criminal. Think of a spider and a fly, the spider spins the web as a trap for a fly to accidentally fly into and be ultimately destroyed. In order for this to work, concealed human evil must be revealed by the end of the story.
Plot:
-Characters are drawn in.
-They realize that they have misjudged
-They are destroyed for their error.
The victim in this formula is naive, and the reader identifies with this naivety of the victim; so when the victim is trapped the reader feels trapped as well. The reader should realize exactly how the victim gets duped, and realize that the same could have happened to them self if they had been in the same situation.
In the Come into My Parlor formula, it is understood that the victim is partially at fault. The victim's own vice is the reason that they fall into the trap.
Common Vices:
-Gluttony
-Lechery
-Laziness
-Greed
-Wrath
-Envy
-Deceit
-Expecting kindness where it is not deserved
Human vice leads to a downfall by a criminal who's inner evil is revealed after it's too late for the victim to escape. The moral of the story: if it's seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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"Bless this House," by Christiana Brand
In the beginning of "Bless this House," it is a little ambiguous as to who is laying the trap. At first, Joe and pregnant Marilyn don't seem at all virtuous, and Mrs. Vaughan seems to be the virtuous neighbor by taking them in; but it is her stubbornness that is the vice that ultimately leads to her demise. She believes them to be the second coming of Christ: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. No matter what the priests and her friends tell her, she is blind to anything other than this fantasy. So blind, that she does not realize that they are pushing her out of her own home or that they have done the same with Mrs. Mace. It is understood that Mrs. Vaughan herself makes the trap work for Joe and Marilyn.
We know that this is a Come Into My Parlor formula, so let's look at how Marilyn and Joe spin a trap for Mrs. Vaughan.
They find the Vice: Mrs. Vaughan's irrational beliefs. They play along with Mrs. Vaughan's opinions. Marilyn calls Joe a carpenter. They are respectful and happy to have just the shed in the back. The allow her to fawn over the baby. Joe even warns Mrs. Vaughan to hide her money after the landlord propositions to help Joe steal it.
They exploit the Vice: Mrs. Vaughan is already acting suspiciously crazy; but instead of adding to the rumors and the gossip, they defend her and make themselves appear to have her best interest in mind. The crazier Mrs. Vaughan appears, the more reliable and good natured the couple appears to the neighborhood. They allow the neighbors and friends to come up with their desired conclusions. The neighbors decide that she is crazy. The neighbors decide that they should not be living with her because it isn't safe for the baby. The neighbors decide that she should be taken into a home.
They seal the trap: After the community believes that they are doing the right thing by bringing her to an institution, Mrs. Vaughan is trapped. The kicker, she willingly goes to what she thinks is a visit with Mrs. Mace, the old landlady. She has no idea that she is trapped until Joe tells her in the car. The last scene with the conversation between Joe and Marilyn reveals that Mrs. Vaughan is now buried by Mrs. Mace in a field of wild flowers, and now they have the place to themselves.
We know that this is a Come Into My Parlor formula, so let's look at how Marilyn and Joe spin a trap for Mrs. Vaughan.
They find the Vice: Mrs. Vaughan's irrational beliefs. They play along with Mrs. Vaughan's opinions. Marilyn calls Joe a carpenter. They are respectful and happy to have just the shed in the back. The allow her to fawn over the baby. Joe even warns Mrs. Vaughan to hide her money after the landlord propositions to help Joe steal it.
They exploit the Vice: Mrs. Vaughan is already acting suspiciously crazy; but instead of adding to the rumors and the gossip, they defend her and make themselves appear to have her best interest in mind. The crazier Mrs. Vaughan appears, the more reliable and good natured the couple appears to the neighborhood. They allow the neighbors and friends to come up with their desired conclusions. The neighbors decide that she is crazy. The neighbors decide that they should not be living with her because it isn't safe for the baby. The neighbors decide that she should be taken into a home.
They seal the trap: After the community believes that they are doing the right thing by bringing her to an institution, Mrs. Vaughan is trapped. The kicker, she willingly goes to what she thinks is a visit with Mrs. Mace, the old landlady. She has no idea that she is trapped until Joe tells her in the car. The last scene with the conversation between Joe and Marilyn reveals that Mrs. Vaughan is now buried by Mrs. Mace in a field of wild flowers, and now they have the place to themselves.
Formula: I Confess!
1. Presumption of Guilt: This formula suggests that all criminals experience guilt
a. It assumes that the criminal knows that they have done something wrong. In this case, the criminal must feel guilt, even if it is only subconsciously.
b. Signs of guilt are always present, if the detective is clever enough to notice them.
2. The detective has psychological insight: the detective (the one who is able to get the confession) has knowledge of what those signs of guilt might be. The criminal may have everyone else fooled, but the detective can see through the act and decipher the criminal's guilty conscience through small actions and details.
3. Contest of Wills: There is often a contest of wills between a detective, who has an unprovable gut-feeling, and the criminal, who may only be tricked into confessing.
4. The Detective knows the exact way to get a confession: the psychological insight that the detective has allows him/her to convince or trick the criminal into a confession. They may bring the criminal back to the crime scene, catch them in their own web of lies, show them a piece of previously unknown evidence, or create some cheap trick to fool them into confession.
a. It assumes that the criminal knows that they have done something wrong. In this case, the criminal must feel guilt, even if it is only subconsciously.
b. Signs of guilt are always present, if the detective is clever enough to notice them.
2. The detective has psychological insight: the detective (the one who is able to get the confession) has knowledge of what those signs of guilt might be. The criminal may have everyone else fooled, but the detective can see through the act and decipher the criminal's guilty conscience through small actions and details.
3. Contest of Wills: There is often a contest of wills between a detective, who has an unprovable gut-feeling, and the criminal, who may only be tricked into confessing.
4. The Detective knows the exact way to get a confession: the psychological insight that the detective has allows him/her to convince or trick the criminal into a confession. They may bring the criminal back to the crime scene, catch them in their own web of lies, show them a piece of previously unknown evidence, or create some cheap trick to fool them into confession.
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"Thou Art the Man," by Edgar Allan Poe
Characters:
Charles Goodfellow: Mr. Shuttleworthy's neighbor
Mr. Pennifeather: Mr. Shuttleworthy's prodigal nephew
Mr. Shuttleworthy: Wealthy Man & Victim
Red Herring: Mr. Pennifeather
Circumstantial Evidence:
- Appears after his uncle disappear and knows all about the case
- Mr. Shuttleworthy threatened to disinherit him, and they had argued about it the day the uncle
disappeared.
- Mr. Pennifeather knew about the money Mr. Shuttleworthy was bringing to the bank.
- He was deer hunting in the woods by the pool that day.
Planted Evidence:
- His velvet waist coat at the bottom of the pool
- The bloody shirt hidden in his room
- The bullet found in the horse was from his gun
- Mr. Shuttleworthy's knife
Signs of Guilt: Mr. Goodfellow
- Convinces the townspeople to not search for Mr. Shuttleworthy (even though his horse returned on its own with a bullet hole through it).
Charles Goodfellow: Mr. Shuttleworthy's neighbor
Mr. Pennifeather: Mr. Shuttleworthy's prodigal nephew
Mr. Shuttleworthy: Wealthy Man & Victim
Red Herring: Mr. Pennifeather
Circumstantial Evidence:
- Appears after his uncle disappear and knows all about the case
- Mr. Shuttleworthy threatened to disinherit him, and they had argued about it the day the uncle
disappeared.
- Mr. Pennifeather knew about the money Mr. Shuttleworthy was bringing to the bank.
- He was deer hunting in the woods by the pool that day.
Planted Evidence:
- His velvet waist coat at the bottom of the pool
- The bloody shirt hidden in his room
- The bullet found in the horse was from his gun
- Mr. Shuttleworthy's knife
Signs of Guilt: Mr. Goodfellow
- Convinces the townspeople to not search for Mr. Shuttleworthy (even though his horse returned on its own with a bullet hole through it).
hoist_on_their_own_petards.ppt | |
File Size: | 335 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
"Midnight on Beauchamp Row"
The evil doer will get what they deserve.
The evil doer: Ned Chivers
- He stages a robbery on his own wife
- His disguise was intended to from an African American man, with the idea that one would get accused and found guilty because of the lack of legal support he would receive. This would mean that he would get away with the crime while letting another suffer for it.
What does he deserve? Death
- He was willing to set up another man to possibly die in taking the fall for his crime. So he got what was coming to him.
1. Appreciate the Genius of the Plan: The plan should appear to be the perfect crime. All details should be carefully laid out and nothing obvious overlooked. It should appear to the reader that nothing could possibly go wrong.
- The Wife was all alone with no chance of any more witnesses.
- The wife beleived that the money was well hidden and that no one knew that it was there.
- Ned had a good Alibi
- The wife would have accused a black man of the robbery, so no suspicion would fall on Ned.
2. Appreciate the backfiring of the Plan: An unpredictable variable occurs and causes the plan to backfire. Sometimes it's as if the universe would not allow such an evil crime to succeed or the evil doer to get away with it.
- The unpredictable variable: The Stranger Arrives
- We think that the stranger is the bad guy who might commit a crime
- Instead of being the bad guy, he is the hero as he saves Letty from the robbery.
- He kills the intruder
- She realizes that the intruder was actually her husband in disguise
3. Sometimes there is a detective, but the focus is on the plan failing: The detective is only necessary after a crime has been committed, so often there is no character in the story acting as a detective. A detective is sometimes a present character if the criminal is a repeat offender who has tested his luck on too many times.
- No detective, but the truth is realized between Letty and the Intruder.
The evil doer: Ned Chivers
- He stages a robbery on his own wife
- His disguise was intended to from an African American man, with the idea that one would get accused and found guilty because of the lack of legal support he would receive. This would mean that he would get away with the crime while letting another suffer for it.
What does he deserve? Death
- He was willing to set up another man to possibly die in taking the fall for his crime. So he got what was coming to him.
1. Appreciate the Genius of the Plan: The plan should appear to be the perfect crime. All details should be carefully laid out and nothing obvious overlooked. It should appear to the reader that nothing could possibly go wrong.
- The Wife was all alone with no chance of any more witnesses.
- The wife beleived that the money was well hidden and that no one knew that it was there.
- Ned had a good Alibi
- The wife would have accused a black man of the robbery, so no suspicion would fall on Ned.
2. Appreciate the backfiring of the Plan: An unpredictable variable occurs and causes the plan to backfire. Sometimes it's as if the universe would not allow such an evil crime to succeed or the evil doer to get away with it.
- The unpredictable variable: The Stranger Arrives
- We think that the stranger is the bad guy who might commit a crime
- Instead of being the bad guy, he is the hero as he saves Letty from the robbery.
- He kills the intruder
- She realizes that the intruder was actually her husband in disguise
3. Sometimes there is a detective, but the focus is on the plan failing: The detective is only necessary after a crime has been committed, so often there is no character in the story acting as a detective. A detective is sometimes a present character if the criminal is a repeat offender who has tested his luck on too many times.
- No detective, but the truth is realized between Letty and the Intruder.
Terms to Know:
Motive:
Means:
Opportunity:
Red Herring:
Circumstantial Evidence:
The Locked Room:
Only One Among You:
Classic Detective:
Hard-boiled Detective:
Caper:
The Armchair Detective:
Come Into My Parlor:
Means:
Opportunity:
Red Herring:
Circumstantial Evidence:
The Locked Room:
Only One Among You:
Classic Detective:
Hard-boiled Detective:
Caper:
The Armchair Detective:
Come Into My Parlor: