1. Can you characterize Dupin? How he behaves, what are his preferences etc.

Firstly, Dupin is a great detective. He talks little and he likes darkness and he
seems to be very private person. On the other hand, he is an expert in
psychology. He is very creative because he is able to place himself in the mind of
the criminal. He is very logical and careful, because he thinks thoroughly before
taking any action.
Poe had real-life inspiration for Dupin. J.M.B. Francois-Eugene Vidocq was a police
detective in Paris under Napoleon.
2. Can you point out any similarities and differences between Dupin and Minister
D?
The Minister and Dupin have equally matched minds, combining skills of
mathematician and poet. We can talk about alter egos, Minister D. functions as
the criminal version of Dupin, a man who generally acts on the side of the law.
Although Dupin may have stolen the letter, the Minister was at fault because he
committed the first crime. This is also the way Dupin was always one step ahead
of the police because he thought as the Minister D.
3. Explain the crime-solving technique Dupin used.
Dupin explains his technique by providing the example of a game in which one
attempts to guess the point on a globe of which the other is thinking. An amateur
will choose a very short name, but a skilled player will choose a longer name,
knowing that the other person won't look for such names as possibilities because
they are too obvious. Dupin tried to reconstruct the Minister's thinking and he
found the letter packed into another, half -torn letter.
4. In what way does the Prefect, Monsieur G differ from Dupin?
The Prefect has the more analytical approach to solving the case. He doesn't
understand that he has to think like the criminal. Instead, he tries to find clever
ways that he would personally choose to hide the letter. The Prefect's view is very
narrow; everything he doesn't understand is 'odd' to him and not worth
considering.
5. What is the role of the narrator in the story?
The narrator is a mediator between Dupin and the reader. His reactions are
similar to those of the reader. He determines the amount of information which a
reader receives and guides the attention of the reader to the information
received. In this case, the narrator tells us everything, but only as he receives it.
6. Usually, the reader is a participant in the investigation of the crime and is
given all the information. Is that the case in ''The Purloined Letter'' ?
In "The Purloined Letter," the reader has little chance to participate, first because
little information about Minister D is given in the first half of the story, and,
second, because there is no indication of any activity by Dupin until the second

half. Poe wanted to emphasize logical thinking as the means to solving the
problem.
7. What function does the letter have in the story?
The letter itself is just a literary device around which Poe constructs a story. The
contents of the letter are not included because the plot does not need them.
8. What do you think the lesson of this short story is?
Things are not always what they seem, so expect the unexpected; and that when
you are confronted with problems, have different approaches to solving them.
Investigate how others who are different from you would solve the problems. (Ili
to god ve elite rei )