Tag Archives: week5

10/13/21

Who deserves to be heard?

The treatment of women in the story is something that jumped out at me, with Larry’s death being treated as something that was bound to happen at some point due to her profession and how poorly almost all the characters treat Anahi. They are both seen as lesser and the story shows it plainly when Anahi is forced to kiss the feet of Almada for 100 pesos. With this act we can see how this character treats both women and those he sees as lesser than him, in this case Anahi is both.She is also immediately dismissed by the police and the other journalist as not even a madwoman, just an idiot denying her any agency in her speech.She is dismissed due to her circumstances and her gender, as is Larry. We do not know anything about Larry even though the story is centred on her death, a common occurrence when women are murdered. The story is focused on her death and does not need to mention anything to do with her life, we do not even know her last name. She is not treated as a victim but as someone who deserved her fate and the time and resources that would be spent on her case would go to better use somewhere else, to someone more “worthy” of their case being solved.

10/7/21

The Role of Chance

In “Death and the Compass” (1942) by Jorge Borges, reality’s tendency to stray towards meaninglessness and chance is revealed. Despite Lönnrot’s admission that “reality has not the slightest obligation to be interesting” (pg. 148), he prefers his hypotheses to be grandiose and intriguing, preferring that chance does not play “a disproportionate role” (pg. 148). Thus, he constructs from the evidence a magnificent theory that conforms to a symmetrical rhombus shape and a pattern embedded with Jewish references (pg. 156). However, this theory ends up being a trap. The initial three killings, which form an equilateral triangle, are the first three compass points (pg. 156). Due to his desire for symmetry, Lönnrot allows the compass, designed by Scharlach but pieced together by Lönnrot, to lead him to the final point as well as his ironic death (pg. 156). His focus on conformance to a pattern leads him to a labyrinth in which he can only see the single path ahead of him – the one laid out for him in the labyrinth – rather than beyond the walls or outside of the structure entirely. Furthermore, the pattern itself did not hold the meaning that he had been anticipating. The Jewish references he had noticed were simply used as tools of deception – they did not hold any deeper meaning in the context of the crimes (pg. 156). The first murder, as Treviranus had hypothesized, was simply due to chance (pg. 148 & 155). Lönnrot’s desire for a grandiose pattern ends up being his downfall, and this downfall serves as a warning that reality does not necessarily conform to patterns but rather often involves a significant degree of random chance.

10/7/21

Zeno’s Paradox: Red Scharlach’s Labyrinth as a Geometric Series

We discussed in class how Jorge Luis Borges embodies philosophical theories through his literature and often converges them with mathematical motifs (i.e. symmetry, geometry, etc). In Borges’s story “Death and the Compass,” Red Scharlach’s premeditated murder of his arch-nemisis, Lonnrot, draws inspiration from Zeno’s paradox: “I know of a Greek labyrinth that is but one straight line” (pg. 156). Zeno’s paradoxes were the basis of all theories related to space, time and infinity. One of them, Achilles and the tortoise, tells the story of the Greek hero, Achilles, being challenged to a race by a tortoise who claims he can beat Achilles if he’s given a head start. When the race starts, the tortoise is ahead and Achilles begins to make up ground on the slow moving tortoise. But by the time Achilles reaches the tortoise’s starting point, the tortoise had moved forward by one meter. When he makes up ground on the new gap, the tortoise had moved again creating a new but smaller gap. At every point where Achilles reaches the tortoise’s last point, the tortoise is still ahead by incrementally smaller distances. This situation can therefore be expressed as an infinite geometric series. Just as Achilles cannot overtake the fleeing tortoise, Red Scharlach is always ahead of Lonnrot which would ultimately leads him to his demise. While Scharlach did have personal history with Lonnrot, what ultimately got him ahead was the coincidental murder of the rabbi which was published in the newspaper. Knowing Lonnrot had much knowledge in religious scriptures and text, Scharlach concocted a plot that he knew only Lonnrot would be able to solve. Lonnrot of course was too transfixed on solving the mystery that he was unsuspecting of Scharlach’s mischief. Although the “labyrinth” was technically a rhombus, Lonnrot critiques Scharlach saying his elaborate plot could’ve been better if he had mapped it out exactly like Zeno’s paradox: “So many philosophers have been lost upon that line that a mere detective might be pardoned if he became lost as well” (pg. 156). Scharlach then promises the labyrinth would be a straight line in his next life before he shoots him.

10/7/21

Crime and Critique

Although many detective fiction works do not critique society, I would argue that “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch,” by María Elvira Bermùdez, does provide a critique. Because the description of the family home is very detailed, unlike any other place description, the author is pushing the reader to think less about the crime, and more about the characters in the story, leading to her critique of the detective fiction genre.

The description of the home, but not the murder scene, pulls the reader from solving the crime and pushes them towards the characters in the story. This is not a crime of brutality, but rather it is one of passion, as Ismael loves Rosa and is trying to win her over. In order to solve the mystery, one must understand the characters motives and backstories. Because the story is a “whodunnit”, the reader pays more attention to the characters, leading to Bermùdez’s critique of the detective fiction genre and Mexican society in the 1940s. The murderer, Ismael, is a police officer; his job is to protect the people and uphold the law, yet in many Latin American countries, the justice system kills. By making the murderer a police officer, Bermùdez calls into question the integrity of the police force, and prompts the question, what happens when the institution that is supposed to protect is the one that is killing? Furthermore, this critique of the state also critiques the genre of detective fiction, as the main ideas of the genre support a capitalist, US/UK governmental ideals. By calling into question these so called protective institutions, she flips the script on the genre, and makes it relevant to her experiences in Mexico.

Borges fourth rule, “the priority of how over who,” leads to a good problem solving story; however, Borges is not known to critique society through his work, he merely writes good detective fiction. However, because Bermùdez is providing a critique of society through her characters, it is important that the story is focused on the characters. Had the story been focused on the actual crime, it would be much harder for the reader to understand the critique on society and the genre.

10/7/21

The Puzzle of the Broken Watch as a frame of Mexican cultural context

The short story “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” by María Bermúdez shows many cultural contexts through the whole development of the story. Personally, I found quite interesting the way the author starts describing the neighbourhood and the characters of the crime scene. In Mexico, those types of low class neighbourhoods are still seen in some areas, even the description of the victim´s building is quite similar to the ones seen in the country. Furthermore, the way the characters are developed and the way they mention the word “gossip”  several times  is also a symbolic representation of how latin american women are portrayed. Moreover, the fact of the murder being a police officer is a clear image of corruption. This fact in particular is very common in Latin American countries, and unfortunately, Mexico suffers from this type of corruption. I found quite interesting that the author, at the time she wrote the story, she pointed out the corruption that keeps damaging the country until the present day. The characters, specially Lupe, is also a very similar representation of how low class women are stereotyped in Mexico. Therefore, the story, followed by a very engaging plot, is a frame of cultural context during the 1940’s in Mexico; yet the socio-cultural images she portrays are still dominant in the present day.

10/7/21

All Is Not As It Seems

This weeks introduction to detective fiction brought our attention to critical writings of María Elvira Bermúdez. “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” offers a critical view of the state, and more importantly one that criticized the deception of true intentions. This is exemplified through the character of Ismael Flores. The first mention of him is not by name, but rather is referred to as a friend that is part of the police force, who allowed the Garcías family to keep Rosa’s watch (page 8). He is then called by name when Lupe describes the confrontation at the market place, where Ismael responds to the scene, and then buys ice cream for Lupe’s daughter (page 9). He appears to be the only character not immediately singled out as a suspect for the murder. Juan, Lupe, and the boyfriend Tomás are all singled out as suspects, yet he is not. Some even has some suspicion of the child Rosita. His role as a police man leads to this early deception and facade of a good, kind, law enforcer. The status of police man grants him the ability to get away with his crime, but also grants him the aversion of suspicion from the reader’s eyes.

This aversion to suspicion showcases a critique of the same sort of corruption that is possible in not only police forces, but state power as well. This goes along with our discussions of the critique of sympathy to the state that is represented in English language detective fiction. Here Bermúdez, relies on this critique of the police to critique the genre norms of detective fiction and the presence of deception.

10/7/21

The Puzzle of a Broken System

María Bermúdez’s “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” (1948) is an interesting piece of detective fiction in terms of its conformity to the genre norms. While the short story does adhere to the genre expectations of the ratiocination era of detective fiction, there are subtle unconventional elements that stand out as holding importance.  

This short story is immediately placed within the ratiocination sub-genre of detective fiction by introducing Miguel, the main investigator, reading. Bermúdez does also satisfy several of Borges’ rules for detective fiction, including; no more than six main characters; a temporal distance between the crime and investigation; minimal blood and gore; and a logical and plausible solution. However, after discussing Bermúdez’s academic and advocacy background, I think it is important to consider the ways that she strays from tradition and the importance of it.  

Miguel is employed to investigate the crime because the police failed to effectively serve justice and protect the public. Additionally, the murderer is a member of the police force. These two elements are important because it breaks against the genre norm of the detective working with the police to serve justice. However, it is the criminal in this story who works with the police, as a police officer, offering him protection from suspicion. I would argue that this reversal acts as a critique of police corruption; the state fails to protect its people by both actively harming innocent civilians, symbolized by Rosa’s murder, but also by ineffectively carrying out justice. The police force’s integrity is questioned and critiqued in this story, there is no glorification of the state as an instrument for serving justice.  

Bermúdez’s active participation in women’s rights also has me considering the importance of the female victim. Since the story places more importance on ‘who’ rather than ‘how’ the choice of a female as the victim seems deliberate to me, especially in this male-dominated genre. The investigation focuses quite heavily on motives and ultimately the proposed motive is jealousy. Rosa was an innocent young woman who exercised her right to say no to a man. Her murder stands out to me as a critique of the possessive nature of men and the danger women face when they exercise autonomy.  

Bermúdez breaking these norms is potentially a form of her activism. As we discussed in the interventionism section, short stories can act as powerful tools for creating an empathetic understanding of complex and harsh realities. The shocking revelation of Ismael, a police officer, as the murderer of an innocent woman, may be Bermúdez’s way of conveying a message about her society. 

10/7/21

Holmes and A Tool

Armando Zozaya and Miguel Prado, the detectives in “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” by María Elvira Bermúdez are parodies of Holmes and Watson. Miguel Prado, like Watson, does not pay attention to small details. For example, it did not “occur to [Miguel] to ask about [where the girl, Juan, bought for herself]” (4), but Armando did. Armando is like the Sherlock Holmes of this story, it seems like when everything seems to be already discovered- Armando asks the more important questions to gather even the most miniscule of details. For example, when he asks himself “why… the sisters and her little girl, [Rosita], gone so long on their errand”, it illustrates that even the most outlandish claims do not escape his eye. However, unlike Holmes, Armando is very compassionate towards others – as exhibited by his treatment of Rosita. Furthermore,  Armando is like the main protagonist in any generic story, he has the “intuition” to think of the exact thing that could have possibly happened to figure out the story. On the other hand, it seems like Watson acts like a dimwit to Holmes – just so the reader can understand the thought process of Armando when he arrives at his conclusions.  This is further backed by the fact that Miguel does not contribute anything significant enough to the plot and story. Thus, I personally think that this is a lazy way to explain plot and characters intentions in a story. Moreover, I believe that this would be a much greater story if Miguel had been killed at the beginning and Armando had to find his cause of death plus finish his case. This way the reader can interpret what happened in the story for themselves without a detective hand-holding them all the way through. Give the audience a beginning, an end, and enough meat/details in the middle; and it would have been a much greater story. 

10/7/21

Pointing Towards Death: Why?

Death and The Compass was a really interesting read to me. I’ve read and loved many of Borges’ works, and this one was very surprising because of how different it seems. I was mainly left wondering what Borges was trying to do with this story, because it felt, to me, like it was doing a lot “less” than some other of his works. It felt not only like the story was mainly concerned with its meta-narrative, but that Borges was trying to challenge himself, or other writers, or simply prove that a certain way of writing detective fiction was necessary.

The most interesting aspect, to me, is Borges insistence on a certain respect or “sanctity” of the mystery and its resolution. This is seen both in Death and The Compass, and in his six rules. He is very preoccupied with the honesty, clarity, conciseness and purposefulness of a mystery, whereas he makes no mention of the importance of message, meaning, or any aesthetic goals. This is seen in the short story, as it seems almost immune to analysis. Though one may spend some time considering all the different references, plot devices and such in the story, I fail to see much meaning. There isn’t even as much as a more academic focus in the work (as in, the same sort of impression a symbolist or dadaist work might give – something like a meditation on what words mean, or a consideration of how to convey sound/image). Instead, the story is almost completely simply a plot. A mystery, laid out clearly, concisely and satisfyingly. Both Borges rules and his story lead me to wonder whether detective fiction is exceedingly capable of dealing with stories made just for the sake of story. Though it would take a lot of work to prove this, it seems like other genres are almost incapable of merely being about the plot itself. Fantasy is about much more than the journey, romance involves more than love, and so on. For detective fiction (and crime fiction, such as a book about a robbery), however, it is quite achievable to write a work where the resolution of the mystery is the only concern, and everything else is merely a backdrop. If I were to make some guesses as to why that is, I would suppose that the subject matter is either clearly important (for example, the author need not prove to the reader that the death of someone is interesting, or that finding out what happened is interesting), or, it is inherently engaging with a easily relatable motive (for example, a book about a bank robbery is engaging, and everyone relates to wanting the fortune). Though other genres may be able to capture this simplicity of plot, it seems that crime fiction does it best because it is concerned, by nature, with tension, story, and release. Bringing it back to Borges, I wonder if his rules, and this story, are written this way precisely because they are aware of how the genre is unique for its capacity to be so purely plot. For a writer who often has so much going on in their works, this type of exercise may be very liberating.

It is entirely possible, however, that I just didn’t notice what was going on!

10/7/21

Never trust the author

Borges’ use of prolepsis at the start of the story does one of two things. Firstly, it introduces us to Lonrott as a decently capable detective as he is able to figure out when one of the murders is, however, he isn’t able to stop it. Secondly, it provides a brief overview of the conclusion of the text, but with very few details, so it keeps the readers from knowing the whole truth. The use of prolepsis causes the reader to expect Lonrott to solve the crime, increasing his credibility, as well as create anticipation and suspense about the end of the story.

After recognizing these two facts, it led to me reading the text with a lot of trust in Lonrott, so I didn’t pay much attention to his intense research into Jewish practices and holidays. It also made me read the text carefully to try and figure out the conclusion before it was fully revealed to the reader. It became a competition between the text and myself, as I knew what was going to happen, but I wanted to figure out how before it was unveiled by Borges. Each detail and fact that was thrown at me was analyzed and taken note of to try and piece together a truth that would eventually solve the case. Unfortunately (but fortunately because it made it more interesting), Borges offered us a solution that was much more complex than we might have expected. Well, not exactly much more complex because the start of all the murders ended up being just as Treviranus had predicted. As the readers, we are thrown off not only by Lonrott being the last murdered person but also by the fact that he was wrong all along despite the long explanations and discoveries we are told about.