Those Who Get Away: Genre Making and Genre Breaking in Suspense Fiction
What is a genre? Is it a formula, a set of rules by which to play a particular game? How far can these rules be broken such that the game is not spoilt? The mystery/suspense genre is perhaps the most expansive of genres, accommodating a plethora of subgenres. Yet it may still be understood in terms of two basic elements — plotting and effects — usually combined to evoke a specific set of expectations, as in the murder mystery, the spy-thriller, the psychological drama and so on. More pertinently for us, it can be understood as possessing a unique psychological and ideological power. It is the genre that holds together the most violent and turbulent aspects of human experience in a manageable and pleasurable fantasy. The mystery/suspense genre is easily also one the most marketable, giving rise to countless bestsellers. For these and many other reasons this semester’s class focuses on the mystery/suspense novel. The course opens up questions about the genre’s fundamental criteria and limits, from the standpoint both of literary form and plot/content.
The classic mystery tale or the puzzle oriented “whodunit” originated in Europe and became synonymous with the British crime thriller. We will begin with a couple of stories by Edgar Allan Poe, regarded as the father of the mystery tale, to learn the constitutive elements of the genre. But since our real interest is in stories that visibly stretch and bend the rules, we have to look at the hardboiled American thriller. The enduring trait of this branch of the genre lies in its reliance on the figure of the femme fatale, a creature of male fantasy and misogyny. Our readings then navigate a further shift from this very male-centric detective noir to female interpretations of crime found both in the trade magazines like the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine as well as the genre-breaking novels of Patricia Highsmith.
Required Primary Texts: Apart from the shorter readings which will be provided electronically, there are four required texts, which have been ordered to the Revolution Books in Puck’s Alley: 2626 South King Street, 944-3106.
I will place DVDs for the films on reserve at the Wong A/V Center in Sinclair Library. You are responsible for viewing the films outside of class:
1. Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Vintage 1939, 1988 (reprint), 139 pages.
2. Sarah Weinman ed., Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense, Penguin Books, 2013, (selections from the short stories).
3. Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley, W. W. Norton & Co., 1955, 288 pages.
4. Patricia Highsmith, Little Tales of Misogyny, W.W. Norton & Co. Ltd., 1977, 2002 (reprint), (selections from the tales).
Required Film viewings:
1 The Night of the Hunter (1955)
2 The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
3 The Gift (2015)
Student Learning Objectives:
• Students will develop their writing skills and reflect on their writing process, while learning to appreciate stylistic and thematic motifs and recurrences across the oeuvre of a single author.
• Students will work toward a comprehensive understanding of genre by debating the category’s relevance in works that transcend a narrow trade definition. In support of this aim we will read some short writings on the theory of genre, as well as some more conventional works of mystery/suspense fiction.
• The question of when to withhold information and when to be generous, is perhaps the most critical component of both the mystery/suspense novel and the research paper. Students will be asked to modestly attempt to work suspense into their own writing, to work at keeping the reader going from page to page.
• Through a process of workshopping—both providing and receiving feedback about each other’s writings—students will master the art of the short response paper, and the medium-sized research paper.
Mode of Evaluation:
Students are required to do two short written assignments 3 pages each or roughly 900 words (30%), in addition to an 8 page or 2200 words final research paper (40%). Class attendance and participation in class will count for (20%) of the final grade. Final exams will require students to write a critical essay and a couple of short notes on the topic of suspense writing (10 %).
Plus and Minus grading will be followed.
About the Written Assignments:
Two short written assignments:
The first assignment is meant to be a response paper, where you discuss your reactions to, experiences of, and understandings of at least two of the primary texts (due at the end of the seventh week).
The second paper is meant to be a comparative assessment of any two texts based on their relationship to the generic conventions. Here are a few examples: Are the texts refining the genre or breaking out of it? How important are clues, or the figure of the detective to the plot? What difference does it make to the plot if there are many evil characters as opposed to one central criminal antagonist?
(Due at the end of the eleventh week)
These writings do not need to be as carefully structured as the final paper, but they should be
clear, persuasive, and polished, as well as free of grammatical, spelling, and other
mistakes.
FEEDBACK: Students will be required, one week in advance of the due date, to provide a short outline of each of their papers. In addition students will be required to share drafts with their fellow students, and present to the class a brief summary, commentary, and critique of one of each other’s papers, one week after they are turned in. Completed papers will be returned with comments.
The final research paper should develop a sustained argument about a topic that
integrates discussion of multiple primary and secondary readings. This will be an
exercise in developing your own ideas and supporting them in a sustained way with
evidence from the primary and secondary readings of the course, as well as other sources
from the library or elsewhere that you may deem relevant. The paper must contain a
bibliography with at least five sources listed. None of the immediate sources of your
paper listed in the bibliography should be websites (e.g. Wikipedia, yahooanswers,
etc.).
FEEDBACK (workshop mode): Students will be required (by the end of week 12) to submit an abstract outlining their argument and listing at least three sources they plan to draw on to support their argument. In addition, they will be required to exchange and comment on each others’ drafts, even if they are not fully complete, at least two weeks before the final paper is due.