Posted: September 25th, 2023
Topic: The cultural implications of the detective story are conservative and involve the restoration of a disturbed order, according to some of the writers we have read.
With this paradigm in mind, select one of the “classic style” stories we have read (up to and including Jan Burke’s “Revised Endings”) as your subject for this essay.
You should decide upon whether order is restored—but first, you must first consider the differing types of “order” one may encounter in these narratives. Move beyond the simplistic “everybody dies” and think about the implications of societal order, perhaps. What about restoration, individual or community guilt? Does order—to your mind—involve cultural expulsion or vindication and redemption? You can see that there are many ways to define “order” in the detective genre. You could even probe whether your author abides by the rules of fair play in his/her story and how those stylistic and artistic choices constitute literary order or not.
You should, however, substantively explore the effects and/or consequences of order, once you have decided upon your definition. Ultimately, how do your claims point to a larger cultural sensibility?
Each of your paragraphs should be fully developed, using one to two quotations–analyzed and connected to your larger argument–to convince your reader of your critical interpretation of the text you’ve chosen. Your quotations (properly cited) must not be merely “dropped in” or “floating” in the midst of your paragraph. Analyze the author’s words as you develop patterns, associations, and implications to aid you as you make that argument about the text.
Place an order in 3 easy steps. Takes less than 5 mins.