Murders Most Foul British Literature Detectives - Article Analysis Essay

Introduction

Edgar Poe is one of the most celebrated Americans literary critics and writers significantly contributed to the development of various literary works. Ideally, Poe is generally considered as the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further recognized for the emergence of science fiction. In the article, "Poe and the Origin of the Detective Fiction, Stephen Rachman attempts to provide a vivid discussion of the roles of the Poe in contributing to the development of such an excellent kind of the genre. In this article, I agree with the Rachman based on his excellent portrayal of the Poe us the father of detective fiction. Poe wrote three stories that included the "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter. A close look at these stories revealed the discovery of a new invention through which criminal issues and related activities could be handled, and the possible solutions towards such issues found. Further, Poe can get his audience entertained and have their imaginations captured in the process of trying to solve mysteries right alongside the heroes in the stories. In this essay, therefore, I argue that Rachman has succeeded in portraying Edgar Poe as the father of detective genetics considering his roles in various crime fictions. To me, the most effective of crime's fictional topographies involve the ones that reveal something about a detective and something of the society in which they live.

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Summary of the Article

In the article, "Poe and the Origin of Detective Fiction," Rachman offers a tremendous exposition of the chronology of events and the contribution of Poe in inventing the detective fiction television genre. In the article, Rachman recognizes the fact that Poe's idea of Tales of ratiocination contributed a crucial foundation for the developments that Poe was about to unleash. Referring to Poe's three stories, namely "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter. Throughout these three stories, Rachman portrays Poe as a genius individual who constituted a truly first modern component of fiction that gained huge positive reviews. In the Murders in the Rue Morgue, Rachman can point out various strategies that Poe used to provide a good view of the criminality aspect of the fictions as well as the elements of detective. In the story, Poe introduced his reads to the Parisian polymath, Dupin. He was a man whom ordinary people wore windows in their bosoms. This means that through his brilliant writing skills, Poe was able to depict Dupin as a character with powers that could not only able to read the thoughts of the narrator at the very moment of thinking, but also provide the explanation of the entire reasoning chain just an observation of sequence expressions on his face.

The fact that Poe can create Dupin in the story character that can display his analytical prowess, unraveling the seemingly insoluble mystery. Through the fictionalization of the real life, events was a common practice when the Murders in the Rue Morgue story was written; it was entirely the first time when the murder aspect was incorporated into the detective story. Rachman asserts that with the Dupin stories, Poe successfully created an enduring formula for the genre that still exists today. It is also the foundation of numerous stories based on the fact that new writers expand upon Poe's framework by merely adjusting it to suit their needs and changing literary trends.

Personal Arguments

In my view, I highly agree with Rachman's portrayal of Poe in his article. The fact that Rachman recognizes Poe as the undisputed Father of Detective Story paints him as one of the most important American icons in the field of arts and film. I believe that this is true because Poe was able to create so much importance in the field. For example, he created a template for all detective fiction to follow. In just three stories, Poe was able to create an amateur detective and his narrator friends, the talented man outwitted the official police force in their ordinary duties. Ideally, Poe's stories were the first fictional stories that claimed to solve the murder mystery that previously remained unsolved by the police. Besides, it introduced the concept if hiding something in plain sight so that it is overlooked by everyone who is searching or it expects for the detective. Other stories created by Poe introduced various essential elements of the detective that has been widely used in the modern policing and the efforts to fight the criminals, and these include the concepts of surveillance and cryptic ciphers. To me, the most effective of the crime-fictional topographies are the ones that demonstrate various aspects regarding the detective and something of the society which they live in.

Ideally, detective fiction has always been popular because of the contributions brought by Poe. In the second half of the 20th century further saw the popularity of the genre has continued to grow even into the academic world. In my view, the interest and pleasure in reading the detective fictions, for the most part, come from the realization of how the detective can uncover the criminal and the associated motives, which generally instill surprise to everyone, including the audience. I believe that the criminal is usually an individual not a component of a professional crime organization. Poe has therefore managed to demonstrate that the idiosyncratic personality of the detective, as well as his or her inevitable success in offering solutions to the crimes, constitute a considerable pleasure for the readers. This feature undeniably keeps them coming back for more adventures of a specific detective.

Conclusion

Rachman has succeeded in portraying Poe as an integral component of modern detective fiction. Poe was able to create a template for all detective fiction to follow. In just three stories, Poe has created an amateur detective and his narrator friends in his first fictional stories that claimed to solve the murder mystery that previously remained unsolved by the police. Instance, Rachman paints Poe as brilliant writing skills, Poe was able to depict Dupin as a character with powers that could not only able to read the thoughts of the narrator at the very moment of thinking, but also explain the entire reasoning chain just an observation of sequence expressions on his face. As such, therefore, it becomes undeniable to mention that Poe played integral roles in contributing to the development of one of the most important genres.

References

Rachman, S. (2010). Poe and the origins of detective fiction. In C. Nickerson (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to American Crime Fiction (Cambridge Companions to Literature, pp. 17-28). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521199377.003