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Nokia Standard Document Template UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ FROM WHODUNNIT TO WHYDUNNIT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRADITIONAL DETECTIVE STORY INTO A MODERN CRIME NOVEL A Pro Gradu Thesis in English by Kati Salo Department of Languages 2008 HUMANISTINEN TIEDEKUNTA KIELTEN LAITOS Kati Salo FROM WHODUNNIT TO WHYDUNNIT. The transformation of the traditional detective story into a modern crime novel Pro Gradu –tutkielma Englannin kieli Toukokuu 2008 96 sivua + 2 liitettä Rikoskirjallisuus tuntuu viettävän uutta kultakauttaan. Niin myytyjen kuin lainattujenkin kirjojen määrästä huomattava osuus on rikoskirjallisuutta, tuttavallisemmin sanottuna dekkareita. Uudet dekkarit sekä dekkarikirjailijat saavat myös hyvin tilaa lehtien kirjallisuuspalstoilla. Uusia tulokkaita tähän genreen on alkanut löytyä yllättävistäkin maista, Afrikkaa myöten. Aiemmin roskakirjallisuutenakin pidetty rikoskirjallisuus on muuttunut hyväksyttäväksi harrastusmuodoksi: enää ei tarvitse häpeillen tunnustaa ahmivansa dekkareita työmatkoilla ja kesälomilla. Rikoskirjallisuus on otettu myös yliopistojen lukusuunnitelmiin muiden kirjallisuuden lajien rinnalle. Suomessa suosiosta kertoo myös perustetut dekkariseura ja –kirjasto ja aiheeseen liittyvät tapahtumat, kuten Dekkaripäivät. Yksi syy suureen suosioon lienee myös kirjojen pohjalta tehdyissä laadukkaissa tv-sarjoissa. Niin sanottuna rikoskirjallisuuden kulta-aikana pidetään maailmansotien välistä aikaa, karkeasti ottaen 1920–30 –lukuja. Tuon ajan dekkareita luetaan yhä innokkaasti, mutta sen jälkeiset vuodet ovat tuoneet rikoskirjallisuuteen myös uusia piirteitä. Onkin mielenkiintoista tarkastella, onko kyse enää ollenkaan samasta asiasta, kun vertaillaan kulta-ajan dekkareita ja nykyaikaisia psykologisia rikosromaaneja. Julian Symons on laatinut kirjassaan Bloody Murder (1985) listan niistä ominaisuuksista, joiden avulla vertailua voidaan tehdä. Tässä tutkielmassa käyn aluksi läpi miten rikoskirjallisuutta on yritetty hahmottaa ja luokitella ja mitkä ovat sen rakenne ja erityispiirteet. Sen jälkeen käsittelen rikoskirjallisuutta vastaan esitettyä kritiikkiä sekä puoltavia kannanottoja. Sitten hahmotan rikoskirjallisuuden alkutaivalta, näkemyksestä riippuen se alkaa joko raamatullisista kertomuksista tai sitten eurooppalaisen poliisitoiminnan perustamisen ajoilta. Seuraavana tarkastelen lähemmin Symonsin luokittelua ja analysoin sen pohjalta kaksi kirjaa: Agatha Christien The Mysterious Affair at Styles joka on kirjoitettu vuonna 1920 sekä Ruth Rendellin The Lake of Darkness vuodelta 1980. Lopuksi luon silmäyksen rikoskirjallisuuden tulevaisuudennäkymiin. Asiasanat: crime fiction. crime genre. detective fiction. detective stories. history of literature. literary research. Agatha Christie. Ruth Rendell. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 FOCUS OF THIS THESIS ........................................................................................................... 4 2. APPEAL AND CHARM OF DETECTIVE FICTION............................................................ 6 2.1 WHY DO PEOPLE READ DETECTIVE NOVELS? ......................................................................... 7 2.2 REASONS FOR POPULARITY IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES ...................................... 8 2.3 SOCIOLOGY IN DETECTIVE FICTION........................................................................................ 9 3. THE DIFFICULTY OF DEFINING A DETECTIVE STORY ............................................ 10 3.1 THE FORMULAIC STRUCTURE............................................................................................... 10 3.2 CONVENTIONS AND FORMULAIC CONDITIONING.................................................................. 11 3.3 SELF-REFERENCIALITY ........................................................................................................ 12 3.4 READER PARTICIPATION ...................................................................................................... 13 3.5 RESTRICTIONS ..................................................................................................................... 14 4. AN OVERVIEW ON THE HISTORY OF CRIME GENRE................................................ 15 4.1 EARLY DAYS........................................................................................................................ 15 4.2 THE DAWN OF DETECTIVE FICTION ...................................................................................... 18 4.2.1 Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson............................................. 21 4.3 THE “FIRST” GOLDEN AGE .................................................................................................. 23 4.4 THE GENUINE GOLDEN AGE: THE TWENTIES ....................................................................... 25 4.4.1 The queens of crime ...................................................................................................... 28 4.5 THE GOLDEN AGE: THE THIRTIES........................................................................................ 30 4.5.1 The Golden Age in America.......................................................................................... 32 4.6 WARTIME AND THE POST-WAR YEARS ................................................................................. 33 4.7 AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT: ATTEMPTS TO BREAK THE RULES ............................................. 34 4.8 CRIME LITERATURE TODAY ................................................................................................. 37 4.8.1 Police procedurals ......................................................................................................... 38 4.8.2 Roman policier .............................................................................................................. 39 4.8.3 Crime novels or psychological thrillers ........................................................................ 40 4.8.4 The engaged model........................................................................................................ 43 4.8.5 Anglo-Saxon trends....................................................................................................... 43 4.8.6 Trends in the USA ......................................................................................................... 44 4.8.7 Trends in the Scandinavia............................................................................................. 45 5. COMPARISON BETWEEN A DETECTIVE STORY AND A CRIME NOVEL .............. 50 5.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CHRISTIE AND RENDELL.................................................. 50 5.1.1 Agatha Christie, 1890-1976........................................................................................... 50 5.1.2 Ruth Rendell, 1930-....................................................................................................... 52 5.2 DETECTIVE STORIES VERSUS CRIME NOVELS ....................................................................... 53 5.2.1 Comparison between the main features by Julian Symons.......................................... 54 5.3 THE ANALYSIS OF THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES.................................................... 55 5.3.1 Plot ................................................................................................................................. 55 5.3.2 Detective......................................................................................................................... 56 5.3.3 Method ........................................................................................................................... 58 5.3.4 Clues .............................................................................................................................. 59 5.3.5 Characters...................................................................................................................... 66 5.3.6 Setting ............................................................................................................................ 70 5.3.7 Social attitude ................................................................................................................ 71 5.3.8 Puzzle value ................................................................................................................... 73 5.4 THE ANALYSIS OF THE LAKE OF DARKNESS ....................................................................... 74 5.4.1 Plot ................................................................................................................................. 74 5.4.2 Detective......................................................................................................................... 75 5.4.3 Method ........................................................................................................................... 76 5.4.4 Clues .............................................................................................................................. 77 5.4.5 Characters...................................................................................................................... 79 5.4.6 Setting ............................................................................................................................ 79 5.4.7 Social attitude ................................................................................................................ 81 5.4.8 Puzzle value ..................................................................................................................
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