--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "al_guthrie65"
<allan@...> wrote:
>
> Dave, I don't know ARKADIN so can't comment on that,
but the
others
> certainly involve their protagonists confronting
death. They're
all
> murderers. Can't get much more confrontational than
that.
>
> You might argue that they're all equipped to deal
with killing
> people, but I don't see that. None of them is as
tough as they
think.
> Dillon asks how he can be lonely with all these dead
people
> following him around. And Nick goes all freakshow
messianic.
>
> I would argue that the 'hopeless state' of these
characters is
very
> much attributable to the fact that they're murderers
(ie
confronted
> death).
>
> Al
>
Al, the point I'm trying to make is that these characters
tend to be remorseless, and for the most part they don't feel
a hell of a lot of guilt or spend much time agonizing over
the murders they've committed, and for the most part these
don't contribute to the hell they find themselves in--except
for the consequences if they get discovered. I liked Mark's
comments about characters being forced to confront their own
morality, and what they will or will not do to get what they
want--I think that's spot on. Other forces other than their
conscience over their acts or worrying about their own
mortality tends to land them in their private hell. Some
spoilers below...
In Double Indemnity, Walter Huff and Phyliss are completely
remorseless about murdering her husband. They're screwed
because they ended up in place where they're stuck with each
other and suicide is the only way out.
Hell of a Woman, Dolly Dillon is completely remorseless about
killing the old woman and drunk laborer he set up as the fall
guy. Psychically he's already damaged goods well before the
murders and the robbery--someone who finds a way to make the
worst of any situation, and his hardluck of losing the old
woman's money is more than enough to drive him over the edge.
By the time he kills his wife, he has already slipped into
insanity.
Pop. 1280, Nick Corey is also completely remorseless over his
acts, and I don't see the murders causing the hell he ends up
in.
Swell-Looking Babe, the bellhop, Dusty, might somehow be
responsible for his dad's (and mom's death), and he might be
facing his own impending death, but the hell he lands in is
because he's lost the woman that he needs.
While most noir books include a murder or two (or three),
these characters tend to be remorseless, and the hell they
find themselves trapped in tend be caused by other
factors--although fear of exposure for a murder could be one
of them, but again, I see it more as a spiritual death or
loss-- the character has gotten to a point where salvation is
no longer possible and they can't live within anymore within
their own skin. Anyway, that's my take!
--Dave Z,
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