Definition of Crime Fiction (1 Viewer)

[mon_mon]

Hey, i know this is kinda cheap, but i have half yearlies in 2 days and i'm having difficulty with defining crime fiction. How have you guys defined it? would you call The Big Sleep, Snow Falling On Cedars or The Real Inspector Hound crime fiction? I personally think that TBS is but the other two arn't.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

to simplify:

the big sleep is a conventional crime fiction in the sense it abides within (and sometimes also set) the conventions of the hardboiled subgenre

Snow Falling on Cedars is an extension of the crimefiction genre as it does not stay within the traditional confines of crimefiction novels. It incorporates new themes, aims and indeed other genres into the text. In the process it extends the boundaries of the genre and text beyond being just a whodunnit.

The Real Inspector Hound is a subversion of the genre, especially with the existentialist qualities (this is what my teacher said anyway as im not actually doing this text)

 

[iambored]

umm.. u gotta remember the basics like that a normal crime fiction story has the crime and is about solving the crime. newer are not necessarily like this.
to an extent they're all crime fiction otherwise why would we study them? just sfoc trancends the genre and hound subverts it.

 

[mon_mon]

Cheers guys, could you just say that Crime Fiction is defined by a crime and the solving of it? Because TBS doesn't really have one crime as such, more like a collection of corrupt doings.

 

[McLake]

Remember crime != (does not equal) murder. Crime can be any thinh that is illegal, such as the pornography in TBS.

 

[mon_mon]

True, the point i was making was that TBS doesn't have a clear cut crime and instead has alot of crimes that aren't solved or are forgotten about. Aparently when Howard Hawkes was making the movie he was so drunk that he forgot about the Sternwood cheufur (or however you spell it). Because if you remember, that isn't ever resolved when they find his body in the water. Its all abit weird really. not to mention confusing as hell.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

Raymond Chandler said himself that he never knew how the chauffeur died. It is there just to add towards the overall dark atmosphere of a decrepid crime-filled surburbia which is what HB crimefiction really tries to write about, rather than a single cut and dried case usually found in the classical and cosy schools.

 

[Juliana]

That's the thing. No single text is ever apart of one genre only. Take TBS for eg, it embodies the romantic element as well as crime. It's more of an exploration of morality than anything else. Plus if you guys noticed, the way women are portrayed (the occupations they're allowed to take in the movie) suggests a shift in gender roles which is apart of the post-war period. I find that realy interseting because you see so many other dominant female characters in the film, despite the fact that they might play very small roles. eg, the lady who owns the bookstore.
My suggestion: look at the purpose and context of all your texts and as long as it embodies the major conventions of CF then it's a CF text. However u have to say that it also has 'elements' of other genres which indicates that the text is being subverted.

 

[captnbuttons]

i definetley think that snow falling on cedars is crime fiction! its a variation to the general though! Remember liek alot of poeple above have already said crime is not just a murder, crime is anything illegal... you could veen go so far as to say that thinking ill of someone is crime? (okay maybe no but im trying to mak eteh point that the genre stretches so far from just the original conventions) In snow falling on cedars for example we know that there is actually no crime commited just a tradgic accident as kabuo did not kill carl heine. However, the real crime in snow falling on cedars is of teh racial discrimination against the japanese not only in the presesnt time of the novel when kabuo is on trial, but also when the novel takes flashbacks to the war etc. also, even though Kabuo didn't actually murder carl heine it is still crime fiction because there was a "crime" and justice at the end i.e kabuo was let off for been innocent and there was an investigation <-- all conventions of crime fiction!
I don't know if that helps but i hope it does!

 

[pri]

Snow, looks at moral crimes, not and actual crime commited, I supplemented it with "the murders in the rue morgue" by poe, in that no actuall crime is commited, yet it fits in to crime genre as it deals with a murder, suspect, and is basically a court room drama.

 

[pri]

heres a def i got:

-- Encyclopedia of Literature Search



crime novel Subgenre of the DETECTIVE novel in which the focus of the work is on the environment and psychology of the criminal. Prominent writers of the genre include John Wainwright, Colin Watson, Nicholas Freeling, Ruth Rendell, Jessica Mann, Mickey Spillane, and Patricia Highsmith. Crime novels differ from police procedurals, which are written from the point of view of the criminal investigator.

Source: Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (c)1995. Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster.

Source Database: Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

 

[Nick]

the way i see it crime fiction isnt one defined genre with definite rules, with texts subverting or "moving around" the genre, its more of a progressive evolution of texts and sub genres that all encompass certain characteristics that follow on from the previous "step" in the chain. and each one alters due to changes in context.

well thats my theory, i was going to explain it further, but its late and i cant be bothered..

 

[iambored]

nick - yeah, ur theory is right

we r studying wat nick said, hence y sfoc is classified crime fiction

 

[pri]

Originally posted by Nick
the way i see it crime fiction isnt one defined genre with definite rules, with texts subverting or "moving around" the genre, its more of a progressive evolution of texts and sub genres that all encompass certain characteristics that follow on from the previous "step" in the chain. and each one alters due to changes in context.

well thats my theory, i was going to explain it further, but its late and i cant be bothered..

my god that is good , can I quote that in my essay?

 

[Nick]

hmm i dunno.. it was going to be my unique and wondrous thesis for my crime essay..

also i dont advise u quote, Boredofstudies forum member... argues.. "__" in ur 3u essays

 

[McLake]

Originally posted by Nick
hmm i dunno.. it was going to be my unique and wondrous thesis for my crime essay..

also i dont advise u quote, Boredofstudies forum member... argues.. "__" in ur 3u essays

Well, my sister said that her teacher gave her 4U English stuff off the site to use, so ...

 

[pri]

lol Im not going to quote u directly, mebbe just adopt ur thesis into my thesis

 

[Nick]

yeah, i didnt expect u to just quote my post.. thats fine, just dont do it better than me in the HSC ey

 

[pri]

heck Ill be lucky to pass mate, so u neednt worry bout me as competition