Noir protagonists can, but needn't, go bad. Goodis's
protagonists are not evil so much as weak. Many of Woolrich's
protagonists are the same. The protagonist of Edward
Anderson's THIEVES LIKE US isn't even weak
--it's just that society is much stronger.
Noir brings with it a feeling of loss of control.
Protagonists are generally at the mercy of their outer or
inner environment: while a hardboiled protagonist for better
or worse acts, a noir protagonist for better or worse reacts.
Sometimes that does mean that the protagonist slips into
evil, but that's always seen as a slip, a kind of surrender.
Consider the differences between POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE
and McCoy's THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?, for instance.
Somewhat similar stories, in my opinion both noirs, but
deployed to different effect.
Just my opinion, of course.
doug
--- cptpipes2000 <
cptpipes@hotmail.com> wrote:
> While considering the noir suggestion list,
I
> noticed that a number
> of the books feature main characters
(often
> narrators) who lose their
> grips and become evil over the course of the
books.
>
> Is this part of the noir tradition that I
should
> have learned about
> ages ago, or have I simply selected a few
random
> examples that aren't
> a part of anything bigger?
>
>
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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