Harrison Pauer

Professor Linda Haas

Writing 39B
26 April 2014
What makes the Detective Genre Unique?
What element has made the Detective Genre one of the most successful genres for
over a century and half? Is it the action, adventure, comedy, and mystery of the detective
genre? These elements are essential for a detective genre, but these elements are not
unique to the mystery genre. Readers can find these elements in any genre. If a reader
were to pick up a book that followed the action genre, the reader would find action,
adventure, mystery, and the occasional humor. The action genre may not enforce some
of these elements as much as the detective genre, but the action genre will still have these
elements as part of its story. These elements are just associated with good fiction. What
is really unique to the detective genre is the effect the detective genre has on the reader.
The detective genre is fundamentally different from every other genre in its ability to
connect and affect the reader.
In the book An Introduction to the Detective Story in the chapter Doyle, Panek
suggests that the world in the detective genre follows a simpler set of laws than the world
the reader leaves in. In the world of the detective genre, events can be calculated using
facts, rationalism, and the scientific method of the detection. According to the Panek, . .
.[Doyle] glued a scientific veneer to his detective and clamped a thin layer of reason to
his sensational plots. (Panek 92) In the book An Introduction to the Detective Story in
the Chapter Beginnings, Panek elaborates the scientific method of detection that has
been necessary since the beginning of the detective genre. The scientific method of
solving crime allows the detective to solve any problem, and the first step of this method
is observation. Using observation, the detective can gather all of the clues that will help
the detective solve the class. In the short story, The Man With the Twisted Lip, Conan
Doyle writes about Sherlock Holmes using his detective tools to find where blackmail
against the King of Bohemia is located. According to Conan Doyle, . . . [Sherlock
hopes] to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots, as I have before now.
(Doyle) The next part of the scientific method is the tool of deduction. The detective
uses deduction to compile the clues that he or she has gathered into a reenactment of how
the crime occurred and who did it. According to Doyle, I see it, I deduce it (Doyle)
The third step for this scientific method of solving crime is the conclusion. In the
conclusion the detective gives the reader all of his clues and deductions, and then the
detective thoroughly explains how each deduction was made and how it was used to
solve the case. The conclusion is the most crucial step for the reader for a few reasons.
Every reader likes a good ending; an ending where the protagonist wins and the
antagonist is defeated. However, in every other genre, the reader becomes emotionally
attached to protagonist. The reader feels every injury, both emotional and physical, and
every feat that protagonist accomplishes. These emotions are not the readings own
feelings. These emotions are thrown upon the reader; whereas, the detective genre is not
as complex. In other genres the reader lives the life of the protagonist; the reader
believes that every move the protagonist makes is a move that reader has done as well.
However, in the detective genre you are put into the eyes of a creature thats only job is
pure observation. This allows the reader to make he or shes own opinions and ideas on
how to solve the problem presented in each story. Then at the end of the novel, the
detective gives the reader the long-awaited solution. The solution gives the reader the
closure that every reader seeks in the detective genre. According to Konnikova, At long
last the awaited solution, when it all made sense and Id shake my head, Of course;
its all so simple now that he says it. (Konnikova 1) This conclusion is always put in
simple terms for the reader, so the reader will feel that if he or she just made one more
deduction he or she would have been able to solve the crime. After the detective gives
the reader the solution of the crime, the detective then continues life as if there was not a
crime in the first place. According to Conan Doyle, I think, Watson, that if we drive to
Baker Street we shall just be in time for breakfast. This is the last line in the novel The
Man With the Twisted Lip, and this is also how most Sherlock Holmes stories end.
These endings allow the reader continue his or her day with the satisfaction of solving a
complicated puzzle.
In the chapter The Different Story, one of Doves underlining themes is that the
detective genre is a puzzle that challenges. People often seek different forms of
recreation some may choose to read a book or maybe do crossword puzzle. . According
to Dove, . . . both the crossword puzzle and the detective novel are free of stress, each
offers the reader a task or set of related tasks, both are shaped by convention, and neither
has any goal beyond itself. (Dove 3) Dove explains that the detective genre can not only
provide the recreational activity of reading, but it can also provide the reader a chance to
solve a puzzle while he or she reads. Konnikova also agrees with Dove that the detective
genre is designed to act as a puzzle for the reader, but Konnikova says the effects reading
a novel from the detective genre has a much more profound effect on the reader.
Konnikova believes that if readers follow the same scientific method used by the
protagonist, such as Sherlock Holmes, the reader will gain a few advantages. The first
advantage is that we will regain or improve our ability to critically think. Konnikova
suggests that people get stuck in daily routines and no longer reflect on actions they
make. People get caught in an escapable cycle, where it is almost impossible to deviate
from. According to Konnikova, All too often, when it comes to our minds, we are
surprisingly mindless. We sail on, blithely unaware of how much we are missing, of how
little we grasp of our own thought processand how much better we could be if only
wed taken the time to understand and reflect. (Konnikova 4) He compares the reader
to Watson, and how Watson blindly follows Sherlock making the same observations.
However, Watson does not take the time to stop and reflect upon his observations. The
second advantage that Konnikova suggested is that the scientific method of detection
could improve the physical health of the reader. According to Konnikova, . . . and
could even improve vital signs, such as blood pressure, and their cognitive function.
(Konnikova 3). Both scholars agree that the detective genre is a puzzle for the readers to
enjoy, but their opinions about the effects that detective genre has on the readers is
different. Konninkovas opinions were more focused on how the reader was affected
physiologically from the detective genre.
Konnikova believes that as people get older they get stuck in daily routines and
subconsciously get glued into these patterns of repetitions. According to Konnikova,
You get so set in a specific pattern that you go through entire chunks of your day in a
mindless daze. . . (Konnikova 6) Konnikova talks about how sometimes the reader
needs to get an errand done after work or some other repeated activity. Konnikova says
that no matter how many times you need to remind yourself throughout the day; the
person will still wont be able to accomplish this errand, because it is not part of his or
her daily routine. Konnikova believes that the main detective, such as Sherlock Holmes,
can help a reader escape the monotony of a daily routine by simply following copying
what Sherlock Holmes does on a daily basis. Dove agrees with Konnikova in the sense
that detective genre helps gives the reader the change to break out of the cycle of
repetition in a readers daily life. According to Dove, It may be, however, that our catch-
players decide to inject some purpose into their activity in order to break the monotony,
and they start keeping score. (Dove 18) However, Dove believes that reader makes a
game out of the detective genre, where the reader tries to solve the case before the
infamous detective can.
This need to beat the protagonist is a unique feeling that can only be induced by
reading a book that follows the detective genre format. The detective genre is the only
fiction genre that follows pure science; the detective genre only uses facts and deductions
to move the story forward towards the end. The detective genre is also the only genre
where readers need to see the end of the story. The detective genre is the only fiction
genre that can give an ending that will not only satisfy the reader, but it will also let the
reader leave without imposing any moral lesson upon the reader. The detective genre is
also the only genre that offers a friendly puzzle to reader without adding any additional
stress to the reader. The detective genre also provides the reader the opportunity to
escape the monotonous cycle of life. As long as science exists, the detective genre will
thrive.