1. Poe and The Raven

     Watch a YouTube reading of “The Raven” by Vincent Price:

     Write about your reaction to hearing the poem, using what you remember about Poe or about the poem or about the voice you hear. What do you think is going on with the character in the poem? What do you think about the raven itself? Have you ever felt like this character?

     Edgar Allan Poe is a writer that all of us are exposed to in our education as early as the later elementary grades, and for good reason- he was a master of suspense and horror. Poe was also an early innovator in these genres of fiction as well as a remarkable poet. I have read his stories and poems at intermittent times over several decades, and I think it is the atmosphere that he weaves into his works that keep all of us coming back. (Dream-Land is a similar dark poem to The Raven and one of my favorites by him). It's like hearing from an old (and somewhat morbid) friend. We can marvel at his craftsmanship when engaging him within a more academic context, or just simply be swept away aesthetically. Most of us enjoy a good scare, and Poe never disappoints.

      The Raven is a masterpiece. The cadence always appealed to me, for starters; it has a wonderful rhythm and the motif of the "ore" words throughout. The repeating lines reinforce the notion that the narrator is a man obsessed (and possessed) by his departed love Lenore. The poem is meticulously crafted, with the internal as well as end rhyming; alliteration ("nodded, nearly napping"); great literary and mythological allusions; and even onomatopoeia if you count "rapping" and "tapping". (I find it fitting that "poe" is embedded in that poetic device, plus a good mnemonic for spelling it).

     While I love Vincent Price in horror movies and even some of his cameo roles in sit-coms, I think his rendition of The Raven is a little over-the-top. I would rather "hear" it in my own internal voice than it be read aloud, and that has generally been my preference for any poem. Maybe, as a veteran musician, I'm partial to lyrics that are sung rather than spoken- as I don't care for hip-hop or poetry-slams either.

     The raven is an ideal symbol for the narrator's predicament. Historically a bird with sinister connotations, and the unsettling ability to speak human words, I interpret the raven as a messenger from the "other side" or maybe a ghost of Lenore. It could be argued that it's all just a hallucination, but even in that event Poe couldn't have found a better subject.

     I have had moments in my life when I felt great despair; not the death of a lover but certainly the "death" of a love. On that level I can relate to the character's plight. Crows/ravens are a species that intrigue me, because they are extremely intelligent. (It's been proven that they remember human faces). I often get the impression that they "talk" about us or laugh at us with their cawing. They figure significantly into the pseudo-metaphysics of Carlos Castaneda, one of my favorite reads. So I guess you could say that I empathize with both the character and the raven itself in this work.

Write in your journal about the “Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Did the solution surprise you? Did you guess it? Do you think it is possible to guess it? 

 

2. Murders in the Rue Morgue

     Write in your journal about the “Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Did the solution surprise you? Did you guess it? Do you think it is possible to guess it?

     I enjoyed Murders in the Rue Morgue, and had an impression that I had maybe read it before- (but only a slight one, as I remembered none of the details). To learn that it is considered the first detective/mystery story is amazing to me, and deepens my admiration for Poe.

     The introduction for the story is unusual. It's a little confusing to begin with such a treatise on conjecture and analysis, but I think I understand Poe's motive- since this was a prototype of the mystery genre. He felt he needed to explain what drove Dupin; what made him tick. Putting the powers of the analytical mind into the context of popular games of the era was an interesting choice. I also get the feeling that Poe had a disdain for chess, since he ranks it inferior to both checkers ("draughts") and what sounds like a game similar to bridge ("whist").

     Once things get underway, the tone of the story is impressive. Our narrator himself comes across as extremely intelligent, therefore elevating Monsieur Dupin all the more to the level of a genius by comparison. There are Latin maxims sprinkled here and there; French phrases; literary and historical allusions- all which give credibility to these two men's unique intellectual relationship. It's a "meeting of the minds", and enjoyable for us readers to tag along with them. (We feel like a member of their exclusive club).

     There's some similarities to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, for certain; and to Poirot and Dr. Sheppard as well. It's easy to see how Murders in the Rue Morgue became the playbook for authors who followed, much like the classic TV show Perry Mason became the template for the many courtroom dramas since. I do know this- I already had the mystery bug slightly, via television dramas such as Columbo (my favorite, with Peter Falk as the rumpled, unkempt misfit who nevertheless has the right hunches immediately.) But now I'm going to have to play catch-up on Agatha Christie, as well as with the PBS shows featuring Poirot. I don't know how I'll find the time. It has reminded me too that I read most of the Hardy Boys mysteries as a child- and I had completely forgotten that.

     As Murders... progressed, I started getting the hunch that an animal was involved. I thought of a dog at first, until I realized that one couldn't have put a corpse up the chimney. So my next guess was a gorilla. The higher-pitched, "multi-lingual" voice doesn't really fit there however. I can say that I was on the right track, but not close enough. I think it's possible for a reader to guess that an animal might be involved, but not to be so specific as an orangutan. (The cleanly severed head of the mother was a difficulty, because a beast couldn't do that with teeth or claws). The other details. such as the nail that only seemed intact, self-locking windows, shutters and lightning rod as access- I don't see how these could be guessed beforehand.

     All in all, a very engaging story, and an important one historically.

 

3. Auden's “The Guilty Vicarage” and Walter Mosley

     In your journal, you might consider Auden's objection to Chandler as a detective writer and apply it to Mosley. Is Mosley interested in writing detective stories with the stock situation and milieu? If not, what is he interested in? Is his society innocent, in a state of grace?

     "Mr. Raymond Chandler has written that he intends to take the body out of the vicarage garden and give murder back to those who are good at it. If he wishes to write detective stories... he could not be more mistaken." And with that, W.H. Auden made it clear that he preferred his mystery novels to follow the classic formulas established by Agatha Christie and other traditionalists in the genre. It's important to keep his words in their historical context, however, since "The Guilty Vicarage" was written in 1948.

     Walter Mosley wasn't even born until 1952. And therefore, Auden's criteria, although well intended, can hardly continue to be as relevant or useful to a whole new generation of writers such as Mosley. It would be the equivalent of B.B. King (a very traditional blues guitarist) telling Stevie Ray Vaughan (a second/third generation bluesman) not to play so LOUD, nor to cover rock artists such as Jimi Hendrix. "Old-school' is fine; there is always much to learn from the pioneers in a field. But it is a mistake, in my opinion, to become too "purist" and condemn the innovators that make changes to an art form. Auden uses the epigram "I had not known sin, but by the law." (Romans 7:7). Here's a sarcastic rebuttal from Job- "Surely... wisdom will die with you" (Job 12.2).

     Los Angeles CA in 1965, Watts community, racial tensions and then the riots- this is the very antithesis of a stock setting from one of Auden's flavor of mysteries. There's no tranquil village here, with a "closed society" that a murderer hides within. Hardly an "innocent society" or any semblance of a "state of grace." It's urban, and gritty, and not at all a "genteel detective interviewing socialites and eccentrics in some mansion." (Not that there's anything wrong with that, either).

     Walter Mosley is interested in writing from the perspective he grew up in, and Little Scarlet is that setting almost literally- Mosley was raised in Watts and was 12 years old when the riots occurred. It's interesting too that he cites none other than Raymond Chandler, Auden's anti-whodunnit author, as an influence.

     I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, sensing it was going to be a great story and ending well before I had finished it. And I get that same feeling from Little Scarlet, even though the setting and the detective could hardly be more different. But then, I happen to love both B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

4. Christie and Mosely compared and contrasted

     Setting: In Christie, the reader is presented with the typical small English village, isolated, sleepy, comfortable— innocent.

     In Mosely, the setting is pretty much the antithesis of Agatha Christie's preference for tranquil little havens; Little Scarlet is situated in a suburb of Los Angeles, one of the largest cities in the world. Watts is very urban, rife with racial tension, and recently (in the story) subject to rioting and looting. Burned out buildings, rubble... even the locations that are not directly affected are in lower class areas. Watts couldn't be more different than Christie's Kings Abbot.

     These settings reflect the authors' own backgrounds, of course. Christie grew up in a wealthy upper-class family in Devon, England. It was a much earlier time period as well- she was born in 1890, over sixty years earlier than Mosely (1952). Mosely grew up in a low income family; his mother a clerk and his father a school janitor (interestingly also Easy Rawlin's part-time job in the novel).

     As would be expected of successful authors, they write about what they know. I think Christie's settings offer a nice degree of escapism for her many millions of readers- a peek inside the "good life", while also giving the lesson that the well-to-do have their share of troubles too. By contrast, Mosely demonstrates that people from poorer environments can rise above them and be successful, both in his own life and paralleled in the character Easy Rawlins.

     Characters: In Christie, the characters are easily identifiable and determined by one or two characteristics; in other words, mostly flat. They remain fairly stable throughout the story. Poirot is brilliant, eccentric, meticulous and supremely rational. Dr. Shepard is repressed, quiet, helpful and dominated.

     In Mosely, characters are decidedly more round, translate "realistic." Easy is a married man living in the suburbs. His wife and he have some marital problems (her dalliance with an African prince) that they are working on; the children under his roof are step-children or adopted and came from dysfunctional situations. Other characters in his circle are similarly gritty- white policemen that give him a hard time, including those he's working on the Nolo Payne case with; his friend/sidekick Mouse is a small-time criminal who's profiting from the recent looting; other lesser characters are likewise street-smart and cynical.

     Christie's characters served basically to inhabit her somewhat formulaic (but what a great formula!) style of mystery. They didn't need to be very multi-dimensional, as that might have been too much of a distraction to the plot (which is her strongest element).

     Modern mystery readers want more realistic people to read about, characters that they can relate to and imagine encountering in their own settings. Not only would a Christie-type mystery seem more contrived nowadays (although a market for such still exists), it after all has already been done, by a master.

     I think a good comparison can be made from a different but related field- television. Earlier shows such as the courtroom drama Perry Mason took more of a Christie approach with comparatively flat characters and a formula-ending (inevitably an emotional "Yes, I did it" breakdown on the witness stand). Mason never lost a case, and the world was always set right in the conclusion.

     On more modern crime/mystery shows (CSI, Criminal Minds, etc.) there's not always a "happy ending" and sometimes the good guys end up being corrupt too. Characters have a whole lot more dark sides and traits that would not even have been allowed by the censors in the early days of TV.

     Conflict: In Christie, the conflict is person to person, between Shepard and the victims, and between Shepard and his desire for power and need for money. Once he's eliminated, the conflict disappears.

     In Mosely, the conflicts are more complex and wide ranging. We see both micro- and macro- tensions and sociological problems. There is the racial conflict of our entire nation (Watts serving as a microcosm); police vs. private (and mostly minority) citizens; sexual conflict (marital problems, Easy's temptation by Juanda, in her "tight yellow dress); in-fighting among the blacks (such as those that don't trust Easy, and threaten him, when he starts asking questions)... there are a LOT of conflicts. Even an ethical internal conflict for Easy as he has to associate with criminals in order to further his investigation.

     And it is also clear that justice, even if won for Little Scarlet, is just one tiny victory within a massive battle against a community's (and society's) crime problems as a whole. The conflict will not disappear at the end of the book.

     Theme: If you could say it in a phrase, it might be for Christie that murder will be found out, that murderers will reveal themselves with their egotism.

What would it be for Mosely?

     To condense Mosely into one theme, my best stab at it would be: Individuals can win small victories, against injustice, poverty, corruption- whatever the skirmish is, within the larger battles of society. One person can make a difference.

 

5. Journal: Changing Your Perception (“Second Look”)

     I'm going to choose a very broad subject as an example of something that has been much better the second time around- my education. My childhood and young adult stint in the public school system had its good and bad moments, as is the case for many. But overall it was more of a negative experience than a positive one.

     That was so long ago. I'm 54 years old, and have spent over three decades in the workforce, going through a couple marriages (and divorces), having a son, marrying again (and getting it right finally)- in short, living life. I've had many vocations, in retail, the post office, manufacturing jobs... also as a professional musician over all that time (which was the reason I postponed college originally). But in hindsight my wait to further my education was the right decision.

     My current wife Debra is the person that convinced me I should try school, as I came into my fifties. I've always been an intellectual, loved to read and learn, so why not apply that background and get some tangible credit for it? Although a little skeptical, I gave it a try, by enrolling at Cape Fear Community College (Wilmington NC) and going for 2-year Associate of Arts degree.

     I found out that I thrived in this environment. All the distractions of my early school experience were absent- the peer pressure, awkward moments of adolescence, the immaturity. It struck me that I would not have done nearly as well in college if I'd went in my late-teens/early-twenties. As an older man, I have the discipline and work ethic needed. And lots of wisdom, some hard-earned, to draw upon.

     And so it continues. UNCG has been even more rewarding than community college. I've maintained a 4.0 GPA even while working full-time and maintaining a home. The humanities have synergized for me into a comprehensive way of looking at the world, and I hope to take it as far as I can go, already looking toward an MFA after the Bachelor's Degree.

     It would have been unimaginable to me as a 17-year old to feel the way I do now about college. My "second look" has been a long time appearing, but well worth the wait.

 

6. Journal: Easy as a Postmodern detective

     For your journal entry this unit, explore some of the ways you might consider Easy as a postmodern detective. Use lines from the novel to help you make your case.

     Easy Rawlins. the most famous (and successful) character created by mystery writer Walter Mosely, fits the bill as a postmodern detective on several levels. Using the four criteria for postmodernism from the module, one can effectively make the case for this by providing examples that conform to those definitions. It also helps to compare and contrast the postmodern character with earlier literary forms, demonstrating both their similarities and where they diverge.

     A major influence on Mosely's own writing was Raymond Chandler, a pioneer of the "hard-boiled" detective character. Hard-boiled: a cynical attitude, due to the constant exposure to violent crimes, criminals, and corruption in the legal system. Readers are exposed to this mindset through the first-person narrative, which usually includes the inner thoughts of these "anti-heroes." And therefore the first criterion for postmodernism is met- reference, either direct or implicit, to some earlier version or style. Mosely references a genre from decades earlier, putting his own urban and ethnic spin on it. When he first meets Detective Suggs, a handshake is offered...

     "I looked at it. Not many policemen had offered to shake hands with me. Outstretched hands of the law held wooden batons and pistols, handcuffs and warrants but rarely a welcome and never an offer of equality" (9). Yes, I'd say that's a definitive example of cynicism.

     The second aspect of postmodernism is- commentary on that style, often ironic or playful—sometimes critical. Mosely's comment on the style, through Rawlins, is of course mostly implied. But the elements of irony and playfulness are there. One of the major ironies Easy faces is that his assignment to investigate Nola Payne/Little Scarlet's murder has nothing to do with any compassion on the legal system's behalf- they merely want him. as a black man, to try and find answers they cannot, and sweep the racial dynamic (white man kills black woman) under the rug.

     As for playfulness, the moments of sexual undertone are more open than in earlier 20th century crime novels, and worlds away from classic writers of mysteries such as Agatha Christie. A passage such as when Easy meets the young woman named Juanda: "She was looking at me with hungry eyes. She expected me to embrace her. I was feeling it too but I didn't give in" (72).

...The postmodern move is often to offer criticism and less often to suggest solutions.

     Mosely's Little Scarlet fits this aspect to a tee. It is a commentary on racial problems in the Watts area (and society at large); a blend of his own memories and the fact-based fictional encounters that Easy faces. The legal system is portrayed in a negative light, and the story itself ends anticlimactically, the forty murdered black women mostly forgotten, and no real solutions to speak of.

     The last postmodern quality is a playful, or ironic, relationship with audiences or viewers. Mosely achieves this in the honesty through which Easy narrates the story. We the readers know his intimate thoughts, fears, and desires- his vices and prejudices. It's a major departure from more classic and romanticized mysteries in settings that W.H. Auden preferred- where evil is exposed, where some person...can restore a sense of peace to a world that is momentarily chaotic. There is no peace restored under Easy's watch, and his world is always chaotic. Postmodernism is basically the antithesis of romanticism- it tells things as they are, as opposed to how we wish they could be.

7. Journal: Evaluate Yourself.

     Please write a paragraph or so to me about your work so far in the class. Comment on your writing and revising, your participation in discussion boards and in group posts, and your reading of our novels and other work.

     Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder has been both rewarding and challenging as a class- rewarding because mysteries are a genre I've not had much exposure to, and I find myself wanting to read more of them. Agatha Christie in particular was a great experience for me and I already own and anthology of her best stories. It will be taken from the shelf, dusted off, and put to better use soon.   

      The course has been surprisingly challenging because I did not realize the workload it presented. As cautioned in the "Course Warning", it's been "highly reading-and-writing-intensive." That is actually a good thing- one should want their money's worth and it has delivered.

      My writing, I think, has varied in quality based on the assignments. I love discussion boards and have given them my best effort throughout the BLS program. My only critique of our particular format is that in most of my courses there has been an "Edit" option available. This comes in handy, especially for a "word-nerd" such as myself, who will often think of a better synonym or phrase after the fact, or God forbid, notice a misspelled word. (Something that surprisingly doesn't seem to bother some college students, but I'm OCD about it).

      Trying to write a mystery has been the hardest writing assignment. Hopefully with the feedback provided and a little brainstorming I'll submit something marginally acceptable. Otherwise, for my journal entries and the other essays I feel that I've done a good job. I do enjoy writing and hope that it shows.

      I am overall very satisfied with the course readings. They give a good overview of the genre, from classic to postmodern to feminist, which is what one would expect from an entry-level introduction to mysteries. I think the definition of postmodernism from the module is the best that I've ever encountered, so that will help me when I encounter the subject again.

    

8. Feminist Critique of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

     Read Griffith, pp. 215–219 on Feminist and Gender criticism. Griffith gives a kind of brief history of feminist critique, but he doesn't really say how it works.

     After you read Griffith 's discussion, write a paragraph to me that attempts a feminist critique of a section of our novel. Remember that you'll be looking for the power relationships that demonstrate stereotypical attitudes toward and about women.

     Kelley Griffith does a really good job giving an overview of the history and specific eras and schools of Feminist and Gender Criticism- I never realized how diverse the field is. Not more than about 60 years old (since the rise of feminism in the 1950s-1960s), it represents the historically recent changes in literary criticism due to the growing influence of female writers, critics, and readers. I found the three different stages of feminist criticism interesting, in how they grew from [1] "images of women" to [2] "gynocriticism" (interesting term) to [3] "gender", which goes beyond biology alone to include cultural differences. The latter and most broad approach is the best, and shows how the movement has matured- and the perspective from which I'll attempt a critique of a segment from "An Unsuitable Job For a Woman" by P.D.James.

     Considering the original publication date of 1977, the novel debuted in an era when feminism had gained considerable ground- and we saw such social trends as female characters on TV gaining some autonomy (The Mary Tyler Moore show, for example, showing a successful and single career woman in the male-dominant field of news editing). Cordelia Gray is a literature parallel; although she sort of inherits the job after her male boss's suicide, she isn't dissuaded by the stereotypical advice from people telling her that being a detective isn't a woman's role.

     The power relationships are typical. Miss Leaming expresses doubt that the client she represents (Callender) will go for a woman investigating Mark's death; or Hugo Tilling's remark of "Sarcasm is all right for some women, but not for women who are beautiful..." (118). The sexism is there, but it's played subtly by P.D. James, and likewise by her character Cordelia, who is offended at the comments but doesn't get "preachy" in her responses.

     Cordelia's ultimate success in staying persistent on the case, despite attempts to discourage or even scare her away from it, is the main positive feminist theme in the story. A secondary one is her decision to protect Miss Leaming ( a "sister" in the feminist standpoint) from the legal aftermath of killing Callender.

     While she still triumphs as a successful female character in the novel, I felt that the subterfuge at the end robbed Cordelia of some integrity, and that Adam Dalgliesh's decision not to probe further, even though he had suspicions, was a step backward- it yielded the power back to a male.