Poe's Stories brief biography of edgar allan poe
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Short Story By Flannery OConnor
| By introducing the idea of an inept police force, Poe introduces the "thorough and well-reasoned" intellect, in contrast to Dupin's sensitive analysis. Such mundane thorough reasoning can do nothing in the face of the inexplicable. Dupin, however, who treats the whole thing like game, seems more confident. Dupin says that the crime cannot be judged on the inept way that the investigation has been carried out by the police. He says that the police operate with diligence and thoroughness, but when these qualities don’t suit the situation, then the police miss the point entirely. He compares it with Vidocq, a detective who often looked at things too closely and missed the bigger picture. Dupin says that by viewing a star in one’s peripheral vision, thereby letting its radiance affect you, afar truer picture of the star is gained. Dupin’s description of the creative technique of looking at a riddle employs a metaphor of a star, which expands the visual scope of the story and compares the crime to a kind of beautiful object. And note that Dupin is not motivated by a need for justice—to him the crime does seem like a beautiful object, a fun puzzle. He stands at a remove from the crime. Dupin suggests they enter into an investigation of their own, for amusement if nothing else, but also because Dupin knows the suspect Le Bon and owes him a favor. He gets permission from the Prefect of the police and they go directly to the Rue Morgue. Dupin pays careful attention to the environs of the house. They enter and go up to the chamber. Everything original to the crime scene is still in place. Dupin looks over everything, including the gruesome bodies. They examine the scene until nighttime, and then Dupin visited a newspaper headquarters. Afterwards, Dupin is silent until the next afternoon. Dupin’s involvement in the crime scene is not clear cut or official he has several different interests. He alludes to a history with Le Bon, even though Le Bon is said to be innocent. He also has enough respect from the police to be allowed to investigate the crime scene and potentially undermine the police’s efforts. The figure of Dupin has a double life, one official and one underground, which are both in play here. Dupin then asks the narrator of "Rue-Morgue" whether he noticed anything peculiar in the newspaper report. He emphasizes the word peculiar in away that somehow spooks the narrator. Dupin goes onto say that the paper has not presented the extremity, the unusualness of the murders. He believes that the murders seem impossible to solve to the police, because of the lack of motive and their extreme brutality. But these very factors could be used to the advantage of a detective – it is where the situation deviates from the ordinary, that gives reason away to solve it, he claims. He advises looking at the unique aspects of the crime, rather than what appears before them. Throughout all the horrible descriptions of the crime scene, Dupin keeps his cool and analyzes the situation carefully but creatively, which leads us to trust him and gives the narrator a sense of calm and safety. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2017 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 37 Dupin tells the narrator of "Rue-Morgue" that he expects to be met by someone who is in part responsible for the crime. He says the man is probably largely innocent but he hopes the man will prove to be the key to the riddle. He gives the narrator a pistol to use should the meeting demand it. Next Dupin goes ahead and explains his reasoning. Poe uses a theatrical technique in planting a gun in the scene, introducing the potential for explosion and death that builds the Download 0.58 Mb. Share with your friends:
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