Mario writes:
<< This very interesting discussion brought to mind
an
apparent fissure in Parker's hardboiled armor: in
_The
Score_, why does he do nothing to stop Grofield
from
picking up the telephone operator and taking her with
him?
Letting a stranger, and a witness at that, come with
the
crew is very unlike Parker. The circumstances were
the
worst possible, as those who have read the book will
know.
Could it be that Parker feared a confrontation
with
Grofield?
Or that self-preservation and carrying off the job was
more
important to him than arguing the point?
>>
I think the latter is the answer, at least initially.
Everything happens fast; Grofield brings the woman. At the
hideout, Parker asks her some questions to see if she is
tough enough, and if the answers turn out wrong, he plans to
throw her over a cliff into a canyon (I think this is about
right). What is out of character -- if you want consistency
across the series -- is that Parker would work with Grofield
again after such an unprofessional gaff. Westlake, as has
been discussed here before, thought Parker was so out of
character in "The Jugger," where he goes to help Joe Sheer,
that the book was a failure. I think Westlake might be wrong.
Parker is worried that Sheer might expose him and wants to
make sure that doesn't happen. More on this topic at:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/5171/books/jugger.html
Maybe out of character as well is Parker's rescue attempt of
Grofield in Butcher's Moon.
Doug
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