Classical Crime Fiction Genre example essay topic

Today, crime fiction is being expressed in different ways; from classical amateur detectives, to more professional investigators, 'private dicks' as Philip Marlowe puts it. A crime story must be reflective of the time in which it was written, providing an accurate and realistic depiction of its milieu and of the individuals involved. Of more importance, it must, as David Madden has written, "reflect its world in a way that is at once an objective description and an implicit judgment of it". Thus the crime genre is now incorporating many other genres. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle invented Sherlock Holmes he established the conventions of the detective story genre, achieving popularity because the values and social attitudes in his stories reflected the values of their late Victorian audience. Depicting that the bridge, between the principles of a society and the methods and values of its crime solvers, has prevailed in crime fiction ever since the beginning.

During the period of America's Great Depression, jobs were scarce and crime was increasing. Outfits and syndicates evolved and politicians began handing out blood money to mobsters. Creation of the hardboiled detective was born. Writers, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler rejected the "cozy-school" crime fiction seeing it as an unrealistic view of crime solving. The hardboiled era also introduced the femme fatale. This genre explores a deep uncertainty in regard to women whom have grown powerful and independent in American society following World War II.

Classical detectives are often upper-class figures, for whom detective work is merely a hobby. Hardboiled detectives are however, typically ex-policemen with money usually being the incentive to work. Early pioneers of the hardboiled fiction brought the Traditional Western hero into the 20th century urban surrounding. Chandler's, Philip Marlowe is the typical private eye, a loner; a social misfit, fighting against corrupted officials as he dodges bullets and blackjacks on the mean streets of L.A. He works for the truth and justice, and works in a seedy office on the outskirts of the business district. Edgar Allan Poe's detective, Auguste Dupin solves crimes by following paradoxical clues.

With Philip Marlowe and Milt Davis, they are repeatedly hit with by gun barrels, shot at, beaten, drugged, and left for dead. Juxtaposed to the classical detective who solves the crime without a scratch. Shown in Chandler's novel, Farewell, My Lovely where Marlowe seeks revenge after being beaten up. In this way the hardboiled detective is also considered to be a superhuman.

In the investigation classical detectives such as Dupin, Marple and Holmes keep themselves emotionally and physically detached. As apposed to the hardboiled detective who does get involved physically, emotionally and morally causing him to see things differently. Although lacking the intellectual brilliance of Holmes, the hardboiled detective solves crimes through interrogation, spying and violent physical encounters. Just like Mickey Spillane's detective, Mike Hammer solves crime decides upon punishment by acting as the judge and executioner. Thus making it relatively more violent. In 'Silver Blaze', Watson fills in Sherlock with the details of the crime.

By the time they arrive to the crime scene, Sherlock works out that the racehorse accidentally committed the murder. This conveys yet another contrast between the classical and hardboiled fiction, that the crimes in the classical genre aren't as realistic and brutal. Two genres also contrast between their form and structure. The classical story centers on the solution of a remarkably perplexing crime, whilst the hardboiled genre has unlimited boundaries where the original crime being investigated is just a thread that leads into a complex web of conspiracy and deception.

This is shown in almost all hardboiled stories. For example Daly's story 'Not My Corpse' where the private eye, Race Williams is drawn into a series of murders that lead to the unraveling of a larger crime. The classical crime fiction genre has been re-evaluated, expanded and transformed into the hard-boiled detective fiction, which has always claimed to be superior to other sub-genres based on its realism. Since Raymond Chandler, hard-boiled authors have claimed that their works deals with real social issues. No doubt the settings may be repulsive, and the crimes more realistically brutal, but the only difference is that the crimes are justified by a foul-mouthed and gun-toting private dick in a battered trench coat, rather than an exquisitely mannered bourgeoisie in an evening dress.