Comparing Murder In Rue Morgue And The Purloin Letter
966 Words4 Pages
What makes a great detective story? Does it make an individual cringe as they read the book or ponder whether the detective is going to solve the mystery? It is hard to tell whether any of these attributes gives quality to the detective genre. But, one thing is sure, these types of stories are mostly analytic and puzzle-solving branches of a genre (Roth xi). When the short stories of “The Murder in Rue Morgue” and “The Purloin Letter,” are compared to The Rear Window, they are both different in their unique ways. For example, Dupin is different from L.B. Jefferies because he uses calculative reasoning in his decision making while Jefferies uses deductive reasoning based on clues or hints from his surrounding. Also, there is a difference in…show more content… For example in The Rear Window, Jefferies wants to nab Lars but cannot due to incapacitation with his broken leg. Consequently, Lisa becomes the hero at this moment and sneaks into his apartment to steal the needed evidence “to book” Lars in jail. While Lisa was in Lar’s apartment, Jefferies must have felt terror and excitement at the same time because he did not know if Lars would return when she was still in the apartment. At the same time, Jefferies must have felt that he wanted to be in Lisa’s place so that she could not get hurt. The story for Jefferies would not have been the same as Roth states: “it cannot be the common affair. It must be something recherché–delicate–fine” (Roth 136). Since Jefferies was peeping into his neighbor’s apartments because he was bored and contemplating his relationship with Lisa, he would have never found out about Lars killing Mrs. Thorwlad without peeping. When Dupin is compared to Jefferies, Dupin is not as heroic as Jefferies because he seems like a more laid back person that will allow others to do the heavier lifting. For example, in the “The Murder in Rue Morgue” he uses his logic to deduce the fact that an animal killed the woman while in “The Purloin Letter” he does use a trap to get the letter from Minister D. In both bases for Dupin, he does not actually show any real acts of heroism, but he does not have too because that is not required for his character. He is a very intellectual person that would rather use his wit to outsmart someone than use brawn t get what he needs like Jefferies. Jefferies could not use his brawn in the movie because he was immobilized with his