Reinventing Noir Fiction for the 21St Century

Dark Side of the American Dream - Reinventing Noir Fiction for the 21st Century The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Carter, William Francis. 2013. Dark Side of the American Dream - Reinventing Noir Fiction for the 21st Century. Master's thesis, Harvard University, Extension School. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37367534 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Dark Side of the American Dream—Reinventing Noir Fiction for the 21 st Century: An Introductory Essay and a Work of Original Fiction William F. Carter A Thesis in the Field of Literature and Creative Writing For the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University May 2013 Abstract The critical essay portion of my thesis provides an overview and analysis of classic noir fiction. The essay explores Dashiell Hammett’s groundbreaking work in the early twentieth century and takes into account the further evolution of the genre with Richard Stark’s hard-boiled caper in the Sixties and the more recent expansion of noir as evidenced by the works of Dennis Lehane. Characters such as tough private eye Sam Spade, the relentless thief Parker, and laconic investigator Patrick Kenzie illustrate important aspects of noir and their impact on my writing. My novel Poor Man’s Lincoln draws from classic noir fiction in its use of characters and setting. However, my novel also deviates from the genre. While my protagonist Jack Coyle is very much cut from the cloth of icons like Spade and Parker, I have added a further dimension of vulnerability and a potential for growth. At the beginning of the novel, Coyle is alone and on the run from the authorities. The associates he has known and worked with for years are now gone and he is forced to operate on his own. He assembles and then executes a brilliant plan to turn the tables on his opponents. However, his journey is riddled with his own anxiety and uncertainty. In addition, his inexperience with women complicates his tenuous partnership with the beautiful Leah McBride. The arc of his character, from jittery, awkward loner to confident strategist, is what sets the story apart from lesser genre fare. Dedication This work is dedicated to my fellow Harvard Extension writers: Derek Asaff, Justin Call, Suzanne Gray, Matthew Harvey, and Ed Moussouris. May we find immortality through our words. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank professors William Flesch and Jason Stevens for educating me and countless others on the traditions and history of noir fiction. I am also deeply grateful to all the professors I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with. This distinguished list includes Leo Damrosch, Ellie Schaffzin, Heather Jordan, Ellsworth Fersch, William Holinger, Sandy Kaye, Christopher Gleason, Sarah Braunstein, and Maxine Rodberg. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to author Chris Mooney, who has been an excellent teacher, mentor, and friend. Special thanks also go to my research advisor Talaya Delaney for all her encouragement and enthusiasm, as well as my thesis director Karen Heath for her invaluable support and guidance. v Table of Contents Dedication………………………………………………….………………...……………iv Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………....……….v I. Dark Side of the American Dream: The Evolution of Noir Fiction.............................…...5 A Fighting Chance: Commentary on Original Fiction.…………..……….…......…......21 Bibliography…………………………...………………...……………………...……36 II. Original Fiction……………………...……………….…………………....…………37 Poor Man’s Lincoln ……………………….…………………………………………….40 vi Dark Side of the American Dream: The Evolution of Noir Fiction Noir fiction is harder to define than most other literary genres; elements can be found in a variety of prose but noir itself is difficult to pinpoint. It is not simply crime fiction, though the two are intimately connected. Noir is not so much a species unto itself but a mood or an atmosphere—it plays on the seamy undercurrent of city life, a dark and often violent reflection of even the most prosperous society. Noir distinguishes itself from other genres with regard to its themes, its narrative voice, and its stylistic choices. I have studied classic noir fiction in an attempt to continue (and possibly reinterpret) its traditions with a modern-day sensibility, and my influences range from current best-selling author Dennis Lehane to classic novelists such as Richard Stark and Dashiell Hammett—the latter of whose works are now almost a century old. Dashiell Hammett has had a profound impact on my work, just as he has influenced every generation of crime writers since his works were first published in the 1920s. His hard-boiled stories with their tough, streetwise language and dialogue set a number of precedents that helped define the genre that would eventually become known as noir . These precedents include Hammett’s bleak vision of the noir world as an inherently hostile landscape as well as his development of the hard-boiled antihero as a protagonist. I have implemented or even reinterpreted a number of these ideas in my own fiction. While many fictional settings offer a benign and often picturesque world with some conflict that will drive the story, Hammett’s noir fiction does the opposite. Possessing little aesthetic beauty, his world is an evil one and its depravity can never be vanquished. Good intentions and ambitions mean little in this bleak setting; it is a chiefly urban and intrinsically 5 dangerous environment. The most that the protagonist can do is to try and overcome some small obstacle; he cannot save the world and would never be stupid enough to try. Aggression and corruption dominate the environment—no institution, however sanctified, is above suspicion. The bleakness of Hammett’s environment helps to build an air of menace that adds to the atmosphere of danger and uncertainty within the story. We see this in Hammett’s novel Red Harvest , a tour de force that has been credited as an influence for such films as Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars . In Red Harvest , an entire town is tainted with blood and corruption; every authority figure, including the police and the local government, is subordinate to the wealthy tyrant who runs the region. The hero, Hammett’s Continental Operative, ultimately takes on the entire community—sometimes one at a time and other times pitting various factions against one another—until just about everyone is wiped out. It is a violent and perverse story that seems intended to disturb as well as entertain the reader. Like Hammett, I set my novel Poor Man’s Lincoln in a hostile environment rife with corruption. Taking place in contemporary Massachusetts, the novel follows arsonist Jack Coyle as he flees from the authorities in his hometown of Philadelphia and scours the streets of Boston in an effort to grab some cash. The entire city is strange and threatening to him. Coyle must not only evade the law, but he also tangles with the local mob. A ruthless FBI agent dogs Coyle’s every step—not to bring him to justice, but to make sure Coyle burns down an apartment building full of innocent people for the agent’s own purposes. Just like the atmospheric settings that Hammett created almost a hundred years ago, Coyle’s world is a sinister landscape; no one can be trusted and everyone is a potential enemy. Hammett’s protagonists are enigmatic loners who are continually subjected to violence. We are never supposed to read the story from the protagonist’s point of view; the 6 hard-boiled hero should remain an enigma to the reader. Hammett understood that a character is much more compelling when his words and actions are left open to interpretation. While this conceit has helped to define the classic noir protagonist, I have deviated from this rule in an effort to bring a stronger sense of humanity to the character. While Coyle is certainly a gritty and laconic hero in the style of Hammett’s creations, he also must appeal to a more sophisticated audience that expects at least some insight into his psyche. By adding elements of angst and humor to the narrative, I hope to make Coyle a well-rounded and realized narrator. At times in Poor Man’s Lincoln , body language is employed to establish the subtext of a scene: “I ran my fingers along the .38, but stopped when I realized my hand was trembling again. She smiled and crossed her legs, taking her time doing it. I looked away, making a silent vow to keep my mind on business” (Carter 8). In this manner, Coyle is able to express both his current state of anxiety and his attraction to Leah McBride (as well as her possible attempt to manipulate him) without shattering the subtle moment. In addition to being an enigma, Hammett believed that the noir hero should be a loner and without official ties to the establishment. Such a state of being reinforces his air of solitude and loneliness. The protagonist is expected to not only be outnumbered and outgunned, but also to take his lumps—enduring a vicious amount of physical abuse throughout the course of the story. These characteristics combine to create both curiosity and sympathy for the hero and reinforce the level of danger present in his world. Sam Spade, the protagonist of Hammett’s Maltese Falcon , embodies all of these noir sensibilities. We are never let inside Spade’s mind—we can only deduce what he is thinking through his dialogue and actions, as well as vague hints that he is a profoundly damaged and 7 haunted man.

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