Harrison Literary Analysis Paper 3

If I could do this piece over again, I would choose a different subject. I tried to put together a paper which was fascinating, and rich in character, without thoroughly researching the subject. This made for a good start on a paper, but ultimately one that was missing the depth that this author and story deserved.


Alyssa D. Harrison
English 201
Evelyn Beck
November 11, 2006
Edgar Allan Poe, and his Character Dupin.

Edgar Allan Poe, one of America's best-known writers, was the pioneer of many different genres of writing. His stories included science fiction, horror, gothic, and mystery, to name a few. He influenced the development of many writers, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Jules Verne ( 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), and Stephen King (It). While best known for his chilling horror stories, Poe’s detective stories starring Parisian detective C. Auguste Dupin inspired successive generations of mystery writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who based his character Sherlock Holmes on Poe’s Dupin. Dupin, who was the central character in several of Poe’s short stories, emphasizes the use of deductive reasoning and logic to study the factors in the cases that had previously stumped others. The tale The Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Purloined Letter are the first and second stories that center on the central character of C. Auguste Dupin. It is these stories that we are to analyze.
The story “The Purloined Letter” is a tale of investigation, one detective against the procedures of the police. In Poe’s short story, “The Purloined Letter," the police are stumped in their attempt to find a letter being used for political blackmail. Their search is hindered by their well meaning but misguided investigation procedures, which reflected the rational style of thinking that was prevalent in the nineteenth century. The thief has hidden the letter right under the prefect's proverbial nose, which Dupin figures out; he then recovers the letter, and turns the tables on the thief. “For eighteen months the Minister has had her in his power. She has now him in hers,” Dupin says of the political turn of events in “The Purloined Letter” in this he describes how the tables were turned on the thief, who was the Prime Minister at that time.
Poe considered “The Purloined Letter” his best detective story because it turns from the action of a scene to the intellect used to solve a crime. He showed that a character could think his way through a crime scene, and use reasoning to support the clues. Other authors built on this concept, such as the famous character Sherlock Holmes. The use of deductive reasoning was completely opposite to the violence in ”The Murders in the Rue Morgue” which also starred Dupin as the central character. This story was the first to showcase Dupin as a central character, and showed a more violent side to Poe’s writings than the sequel, “The Puloined Letter”. In the “Purloined Letter” the story features Dupin and an unknown narrator discussing ideas. The action in the tale is told by using flashbacks, outside of the narrative itself, while the narrative is being told in a very analytical way. The flashbacks show the use of action in the story, so by using this way of tale telling, the reader can get a sense of what is going on without the graphic portrayal that was seen in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”.
The prefect is portrayed as an unimaginative officer, who cannot think outside the box along with the police force as a whole. Dupin feels that you must think like a thief in order to catch a thief, an idea that serves him well as he is able to turn the tables on the thief in the end. His ability to think a step ahead of the police to collect the purloined letter, and foil the plans of the Minister is successful because he is able to put himself in the minister's head. The technique of thinking like the thief suggests the similarities between Dupin and the Minister showing that great minds often think alike.
In closing, this story shows that Dupin’s insight is not always analytical and mathematical though he analyzes the facts of the crime, but he is also motivated by revenge. He must function alone as a detective because of the way he chooses to conduct his investigation, which thrives on personal cunning, and intuition, both of which are not found in the institutionalized police force. With the story “The Purloined Letter” Poe shows that he can hold his own with mystery writers of any time period. This was an excellent story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Poe’s continence of the character of Dupin the detective was at the time innovative, and inspiring to other writers. His work is as spine chilling and thrilling today, as ever.













Works Cited
Benedetto, Matthew. SparkNote on Poe’s Short Stories. 17 Nov. 2006

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories.

Lauter Paul, eds The Heath Anthology of American Literature 2006.
Reuben, PaulP. “Chapter 3: Early Nineteenth Century – Edgar Allan Poe. “PAL:

Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. WWW

URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/poe.html 2006