I propose to write a rhetorical analysis of the Murder Mystery genre, specifically focusing on P.D. James’ novel, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. I am interested in Murder Mysteries because they are mental puzzles. The reader must examine the clues, which more often than not is embodied within the speech of the characters, to discover the truth. Murder Mysteries are a search for truth. According to Aristotle in Book I of his discussion of Rhetoric, things that are true are easier to prove and more persuasive. In the Murder Mystery the reader is presented with differing points of view, some that seem true and some that seem convoluted. I wish to examine the devices used by the mystery writer to reveal and conceal the truth thus leading to the discovery of the guilty party.
The detective represents the rational mind; he/she is the brain at work. David Lehman, in his article “The Mysterious Romance of Murder,” describes the detective “as a distinctively modern hero suggests that truth in modern industrial society is not open but concealed. With the Murder Mystery, the beginning is the event; it is the happening that prompts the need for rhetorical demonstration to uncover the truth. Like an orator, the detective takes the alleged facts to make an argument for truth.
Questions that I will ask of P.D. James’ novel: Is there a reason for the audience to care about the story? Is there a respect for the audience? What attitude does it demonstrate toward the audience (i.e. colleague, teacher)? Does it engage the audience in the conversation? How is the detective represented? Is the detective credible? Does the detective? Who are the enemies of the detective, or rather who are perceived as the enemies of the detective, and who are perceived as friends of the detective? Who is the detective’s audience (the characters within the text) and why? What type of language is used by the detective to persuade others to reveal information? What is the detective’s argument, and does that argument change through the course of the text?
I do not have the text that I will use to help analysis this text. If anyone has any input, it would be greatly appreciated. As, you can see my proposal is still in process and not yet fully formed.
I think we might have talked in class about using Kenneth Burke; have you looked at his work yet, especially the Pentad?
You might also look at some research on narrative, like this: Peter Hühn. “The Detective as Reader: Narrativity and Reading Concepts in Detective Fiction.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 33.3 (1987): 451-466.
But I’d say you need to read the Burke, and maybe some classical rhetoric to get a sense of what devices might be used, and then talk about which _are_ used to establish the detective’s ethos, for example, or to persuade readers to sympathize with some characters and dislike others.