Chapter 3 poe's game

A detective novelist can only walk along this narrow path, and he always sees Poe's footprints ahead. Who is Edgar Allan Poe? He is the creator of detective stories; He was the greatest poet, writer and critic in the world in the 19th century; He is a cross between an angel and a devil. George Bernard Shaw once said that there are only two masters in the history of American literature—Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe. On January 19, 1809, Edgar Allan Poe was born in Baltimore, USA.He once declared in a letter that his family was "the oldest and most respectable family in Baltimore."The Poe family was originally from Ireland, and his grandfather was a spinning wheel repair manufacturer.He led the whole family to open up a new world in a foreign country, and performed well in the War of Independence.The local people used to call Poe's grandfather "General Poe". The young Poe always regarded his grandfather as a legend, although his grandfather had passed away when he was 7 years old.From Edgar Allan Poe's later experience, it is not difficult to see that the adventurous spirit of his grandfather was unreservedly inherited to him.

Edgar Allan Poe's father, David, was the fourth boy in the family and received a good education since childhood.However, David's personality is completely different from his father's. He is shy, melancholy, and even a little timid. At the age of 20, against his father's wishes, David joined a theater troupe in Virginia in an attempt to fulfill his dream of acting.In the troupe, he met Hopkins, who was also an actor, and their relationship quickly heated up, and they became husband and wife in 1806.In the following years, the eldest son Henry, the second son Ellen and the daughter Rosalie were born one after another.

David Poe has always had great ambitions, but the reality is that his acting talent is far from matching his ambitions.After several setbacks, David, who was gradually struggling, lost his goal and quickly degenerated into an alcoholic. In 1810, he left his helpless wife and three children with nowhere to go.Mother Hopkins was originally a promising actress, but the pressure of the family drained her of the last value. In 1811, Hopkins died from overwork.Poor Poe lost his father and mother in less than two years. Both the ambition of his father and the talent of his mother were reflected in Poe.If he can grow up in a normal environment, he will definitely become a "gentle, courteous and frugal" type of scholar.However, reality mercilessly abandoned Poe, making him sensitive and gloomy.In the future, this "suffering genius" has repeatedly displayed contradictory dualities, which are all imprinted by fate in his young childhood.Moreover, his father's penchant for things in bottles was passed on to Ellen intensified.

Poor Poe was adopted by the Ellens.It was also at this time that he added "Ellen" to his name, and the great name "Edgar Allan Poe" was officially born.The adoptive mother loves Poe very much, but the adoptive father is very harsh on him-in fact, this cannot be completely blamed on Poe's adoptive father. Poe's character is indeed unacceptable.Several years later, Poe wrote to his adoptive father: "I decided to leave you... Finally, no one in this world treats me like you do." The bad relationship between father and son can be seen. Poe's experience after leaving his family can be described in one word: deviant!

In 1826, he was admitted to the University of Virginia with excellent grades; at the end of 1826, Poe became addicted to alcoholism at school, owed high gambling debts, and was expelled from school. In 1927, he worked as an apprentice in a firm; after only a few months, he was dismissed by the firm as "idleman". In May 1827, Poe changed his age and joined the army under a pseudonym; within a year, he asked his adoptive father to issue a discharge certificate for himself, but was rejected by his adoptive father. In 1829, Poe joined the famous West Point Military Academy; in 1831, the school’s court-martial issued a verdict without hesitation, letting the student who had no intention of studying and repeatedly violated school rules leave.

It is not difficult to see that Poe is a person who cannot integrate into the secular society at all.His achievements in literature can be said to be his only pride during this period. In 1827, Poe published at his own expense a collection of poems called Timur, his first published work.But, aside from depleting Poe's meager savings, the collection of poems did him no good. In 1929, the second collection of poems was published.It was not until 1931, with the publication of The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, that Poe made some real money from it.He began to feel that literary creation was his own domain.

After leaving West Point, Poe realized that poetry had a very limited audience and began writing novels.With several excellent short stories, Edgar Allan Poe rose to fame and began to show his distinctive talent. In 1835, he served as the assistant editor of the "Southern Literary Courier" in Richmond. Due to his outstanding performance, he was soon promoted to editor-this seems to be the first time that Poe was recognized by his "unit".During this period, in addition to editing newspapers and writing novels, Poe also solved his own lifelong event: he secretly married his 14-year-old little cousin Virginia, which can be described as a maverick.His wife was very considerate to him, and Poe felt the warmth of family and the abundance of life for the first time.However, the duality of genius is destined not to make him mediocre.Soon, Poe's alcohol addiction made him irrational again.He was often so drunk for days that newspapers were delayed.The boss finally couldn't take it anymore and let the genius pack up and leave.

In 1838, Poe and his family moved to Philadelphia, where he worked as an editor for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine.Subsequently, the magazine changed owners several times, and finally changed its name to Graham's Magazine. In 1841, Poe was favored by the new boss and continued to be the editor of the new magazine.Remember Edgar Allan Poe, editor of Graham's Magazine, Philadelphia, USA, 1841—the fun begins. Throughout Poe's creative career, he has dabbled in almost all types of novels, including horror novels, suspense novels, psychological novels, crime novels, science fiction and so on.In every field, Edgar Allan Poe overcame obstacles, opened up territories, and made amazing and great achievements.

In April 1841, "Graham's Magazine" published a new work by Edgar Allan Poe - the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".The novel tells the story of a mother and daughter being murdered in an attic room with its doors and windows locked, and the scene is horrific.Who is the murderer?Why did the murderer turn a blind eye to the large amount of cash at the scene?How did the murderer escape from the confinement?The police were helpless, at this moment, a strange figure appeared... It is worth pointing out that Poe never regarded this novel as a "detective novel".He called such works "games" (the "games" that posterity have racked their brains for nearly two hundred years and are still insurmountable?).The reason why we regard this work as the pioneering work of detective novels is mainly because it is the first novel with three basic detective elements.

First, the detective becomes the protagonist of the work for the first time.In "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", Poe created the first detective in history, the French aristocrat Auguste Dupin.Born in a declining aristocratic family, Dupin rented a dark villa with his friends and lived an isolated life.This weird nobleman comes out at night, and nothing can attract his attention except weird puzzles and books.Dupin is quick-witted, knowledgeable, emotionless, and as cold as a reasoning machine.Even at the moment when the truth was told, the murderer's desperation, the police's embarrassment, and the victim's tragic fate could not make the detective's heart agitate.He only cares about the rigorous logic.Because only in this way can the detection game be fair and interesting.Later detectives all had more or less "cold-blooded" genes, which were all thanks to the ancestor Du Bin.

Edgar Allan Poe loved Dupin very much.In "The Mysterious Case of Mary Roger" and "The Stolen Letter" created later, Dupin was arranged to appear as the protagonist twice.You must know that the protagonists in other works of Edgar Allan Poe never go out of their way.And this arrangement has also become a fixed pattern in later detective novels, that is, the "series pattern" in which the same detective appears in different stories.This is true of classic works such as the Sherlock Holmes series, the Father Brown series, the Detective Galileo series, and the Imperial Hand Wash series that we are familiar with. Second, puzzles became the theme of the work for the first time.As mentioned in the previous section, as early as the times of the Bible, there were all kinds of strange puzzles.But obviously, these puzzles are at best just introductions and props, to show a certain character of a character, express a certain thought of the author, or satirize a certain social phenomenon.In "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", who the murderer was, how he did it, and why he did it became the ultimate theme. The activities of the characters and the arrangement of the plot all revolve around this theme. The whole article is a question of logical thinking.As the first work of detective novels, Poe's treatment in this way undoubtedly highlights the biggest characteristics of this type of novel to the greatest extent. Third, for the first time, logical deduction has become the dominant work.Before "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", novels with a Gothic style were more popular in the Western world.Most of these novels have unimaginable plots, and the explanation of the plot in the ending makes readers even more dumbfounded—zombies, vampires, demons, etc. are often the initiators of weird plots, and there is no logic at all between the appearance and conclusion of the story.In Edgar Allan Poe's novel, the first half of the plot is equally gloomy and weird, which makes readers feel that it is definitely a supernatural event, but the second half of the writing is changed, and through Dubin's mouth, the scientific and reasonable truth Deduce it clearly and convincingly to the readers.This deduction process was based on the rapid development of science and technology and the general acceptance of logical analysis at that time, so it was accepted by readers without any obstacles.And this kind of logical deduction that dominates the style and direction of novels has also become the unique feature of detective novels. Japanese writer Shoji Shimada mentioned more than once: "If Edgar Allan Poe wrote the solution of the story as a 'devil's game', then "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is at best a very good Gothic novel, which will not be achieved. What a breakthrough. However, he explained everything scientifically, so that there are 'detective novels' in the world." All of Shimada Shoji's works lay gorgeous mysteries in the first half, and give scientific answers in the second half .It can be seen that a large part of the pens of Shimada Shoji and many reasoning writers in later generations are held in the hands of Edgar Allan Poe. Of course, the above three basic elements are no longer strictly defined, and more and more creators like to blur them.But in any case, in 1841, these three elements established by Allan Poe through "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" undoubtedly became the symbol of the birth of detective novels.In addition, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" also established many templates for detective novels. In the novel, the narrator of the story—the detective assistant "I" is created, thus solving the principle problem of the difficulty in narrating detective novels.We can imagine that if the story is told from the perspective of a detective, the ideas of logical deduction and the truth are exposed too early, and the ending will be lackluster; if it is described from the full perspective of "God", it will make readers lack a sense of involvement and participation, and reduce the novel. readability.And Edgar Allan Poe ingeniously solved this problem.He writes the story from the first perspective of the detective's friend "I", which can not only understand the progress of the investigation in the most detail, but also maintain the suspense of the story well. "I" is like tens of thousands of ordinary readers, enthusiastically participating but limited in ability; "I" checks the scene instead of readers, obtains first-hand information, and feels the strangeness of the mystery; "I" tries to draw conclusions according to my own understanding, and the result is But it's the opposite, it can only serve as a foil to the detective.Aren't these exactly what every reader must do when reading a detective story?The "genius detective + confused assistant" model created by Allan Poe has been used countless times by later generations. Facts have proved that it has been tried and tested repeatedly. The novel creates a weird, terrifying and suffocating atmosphere: in a remote alley, there are dilapidated houses; the owner of the house died violently inside, the daughter was stuffed into the chimney, and the mother was almost torn to pieces... This atmosphere is almost It keeps the reader hooked from the start.In the subsequent detective novels, the creators always tried every means to create a desired atmosphere, trying to make readers addicted to it, which is undoubtedly the credit of Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" has created a puzzle mode that fascinates all detective fans all over the world - murder in a closed room!The mother and daughter died in the house, the doors and windows were locked from the inside, but the murderer escaped and ascended to heaven!This is a crime that is theoretically impossible, that is, "impossible crime".Mysteries such as alibi and disappearing footprints that we often see today belong to this type, and the most attractive of them is undoubtedly the "secret chamber murder" known as the "jewel in the crown of impossible crimes".It can be said that from the very beginning, Allan Poe has made detective novels reach an impressive height. In the following years, Edgar Allan Poe successively created four detective novels (of course, he himself still called these "games") - "The Mystery of Mary Roger" in 1842; "The Gold Bug" in 1843 ; "It Is You" in 1844 and "The Stolen Letter" in 1845.Together with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", Poe only created these five detective novels in his life, but established all the patterns of this type of literature. "The Mysterious Case of Mary Roger" is based on a real case.Detective Dupin stays at home, relying only on the news published in the newspapers (and they are all wrong news), he deduces the truth exactly, and mocks some messed up police stations and the media that make up their minds.This mode of relying entirely on second-hand information is called "easy chair detective". The purest and most original detective novels are also the most able to demonstrate the greatness of detectives, so they are constantly repeated by later generations.After the novel was published, the prototype case has made some substantial progress, and many of the truths are exactly the same as Edgar Allan Poe's deduction! "The Gold Beetle" is a typical cipher analysis.The protagonist accidentally discovers a treasure map, which is full of messy symbols.The protagonist uses his brains, makes reasonable and bold speculations, and finally cracks the code and finds the treasure hidden by the old pirates.Frankly speaking, the code-breaking method used by Allan Poe in this novel is the most basic and simple one today.But this has opened up a brand new mystery mode. All kinds of unimaginable passwords, death messages, etc. that appeared in the novel later are all derivatives of "Golden Beetle".Conan Doyle copied "The Gold Bug" almost intact and created the well-known Sherlock Holmes story - "The Dancing Man".It is worth noting that Poe himself had an almost maniacal obsession with cracking codes.He once placed an advertisement in a newspaper for a code-breaking business.It is said that Poe earned a lot of money as a result. "It's You" is a typical story about identifying the real murderer.In this novel, Poe's plot structure is very subtle: all the clues point to suspect A, but at the end, B suddenly becomes the real murderer, and everyone is surprised.In detective novels, the misleading and reversal of the plot are very important plots and techniques, and the unexpectedness of the real murderer is directly related to the success of the work. Regarding these, Edgar Allan Poe's "It's You" undoubtedly pointed out the direction . "The Purloined Letter" is a classic with the same name as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".A major incident happened in the royal family, and the lady's private letter fell into the hands of Minister D.If the lady's husband reads the contents of the letter, the consequences will be disastrous.She hired the police to do everything she could to get the letter back from the treacherous Mr. D.In desperation, the lady can only entrust Du Pin to act... This work has two indelible contributions.First, it makes clever use of human psychological blind spots. "People always pay special attention to the big things that are far away in the sky, but they always dismiss the small things that can be seen every day under their noses"-Dubin's lines perfectly explain the existence of "psychological blind spots".Broadly speaking, all detective novels use psychological blind spots to create mysteries.The truth is always close at hand, and it is very superficial; but the authorities are always confused by all kinds of grotesque illusions created by the murderer, give up the truth, and get entangled in the illusory appearance - it is on this basis that detective novels survive and develop.Second, it created the first real villain in detective novels. The significance of Mr. D's appearance is no less than Dupin's appearance.Just imagine, if detective novels were a type of literature in which detectives dominate, would they still have the status and achievements they have today?Buddhas and demons are born and restrained by each other.Only with an opponent of the same magnitude can the value of a detective be maximized, and there will be scenes of classic battles of wits and courage in detective novels.Focusing on the portrayal of villains is still a compulsory course in literary creation today.In this regard, Edgar Allan Poe also took the lead. Five, only five.Edgar Allan Poe established so many unsurpassable patterns for detective novels in only five novels.Why can he create detective novels in such a state of mind?In part, this is due to Poe's split personality. On the one hand, Poe was an immensely confident genius.This kind of talent and self-confidence made him happy to create such "small games" to verify his research results, with obvious elements of showing off.Just looking at Dupin's contempt and disdain for the authorities, it is not difficult to understand how proud Edgar Allan Poe was.On the other hand, because of various tragic experiences and stimulations, Poe developed a strong inferiority complex.Parents' long trips, adoptive father's contempt, social denial, and work setbacks made Poe often feel that he had been abandoned by the world, and even felt that his thinking had been "misplaced".In this case, he needs a way to prove and vent, to let all his frustration out while confirming that his mind is still sane.Therefore, the detective novel has become the most suitable way.Therefore, we will see that Poe's novels are full of chattering discourses-discussions on logic, discourse on criminology, discourse on forensic science... It is no exaggeration to say that each detective story of Edgar Allan Poe can derive several academic papers.It is very difficult for readers to read, but creators are never tired of it.In fact, the reason is very simple. Poe doesn't care what others think of these works. He is just proving that his mind is still very careful and there are no problems, and he uses this to cover up his extreme inferiority complex.Some people say that detective novels are a kind of slightly morbid novel type, which can be traced from its creator, Edgar Allan Poe. Although today we regard Poe as the originator of detective stories, these five works did not bring any special glory to Poe at that time, let alone change Poe's character and destiny.The happy days did not last long. In 1844, Poe left Philadelphia due to the frame-up of his best friend Griswold.He moved around and changed jobs; he continued to write and promote his ideas.However, in the face of the ruthless God of Destiny, these struggles are in vain. Poe's beloved wife Virginia died in 1847 after a five-year battle with illness.Like his mother and brother Henry, his wife only lived to be 24 years old.As Poe's last relative in the world, his younger sister Rosalie is a child born with mental retardation.Poe loves his sister very much, and his heart is extremely painful.After Poe's death, his sister inherited some of his manuscripts. Since then, selling Poe's works has become Rosalie's only source of income. In 1879, Rosalie died suddenly.At the last moment, she clutched a reply letter from the publisher, which contained $50. Finally, Poe couldn't hold it anymore. On October 3, 1849, another drunken Poe fell into a coma and was admitted to Washington Hospital. On October 7, Edgar Allan Poe yelled "God bless me" and closed his eyes forever at the age of 40. Such was the life of Edgar Allan Poe.It is the creation of his many geniuses that the spark of mystery novels gradually becomes a prairie fire.The highest honor in the field of reasoning today is the "Edgar Allan Poe Award" named after this genius.We must remember that Edgar Allan Poe gave us all the pleasure that detective stories give us.