Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: RARA-AVIS Digest V5 #33 - Noir

From: JIM DOHERTY ( jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com)
Date: 22 Feb 2003


Mark,

Re your comments below:

> Perhaps it takes it [professionalism] back into
> matters of class. In
> order to have the
> spare time to solve murders, the amateurs must be of
> the leisure class.
> However, the pros are not even going to get involved
> unless they are
> paid. They are doing a job. This requires more
> practicality on the
> part of the detectives. It makes them working
> stiffs, easier to
> identify with for most, particularly American,
> readers, and gives them a
> real (at least real within the confines of the
> genre) reason for
> becoming involved with a corpse. Even though it is
> a cliche for PIs to
> finish the job, even after being fired, they would
> not be on the job in
> thte first place if they had not been hired. In
> addition, the
> professionalism makes it more believable that the
> detectives would have
> the skills and knowledge needed to solve crimes.

Good points. Further, that both the crime-solvers
(whether private or public) and the criminals are, for the most part, pros roots the story in the real world, because both actually have a believable reason for their actions(however melodramatic and unbelievable the actual story might be). And it's simply the fact that this is how they make their living. This is not true of either the tradtional mystery's amateur sleuth nor its amateur criminal.

JIM DOHERTY

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