A number of authors present scenarios that are very unlikely to occur in real life, such as Charles Willefords Hoke Mosely novel, Miami Blues and Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs

Authors Avatar by kirsteng56 (student)

Kirsten Gunter

ENGL 4866

T/TR 1:00

Dr. Moran

A Lesson to Be Learned

        Over the years, a number of distinctive authors have united together in their desire to tell readers about the life of a detective. But with these authors’ unique qualities inevitably comes several varying levels of believability in their works. A number of authors present scenarios that are very unlikely to occur in real life, such as Charles Willeford’s Hoke Mosely novel, Miami Blues. In it, the crimes and characters seem very outlandish, although a few minor scenes do depict true aspects of human nature. Other books, like Thomas Harris’ The Silence of the Lambs, present a moderate amount of both believable and highly unlikely events. Harris’ protagonist in the book, Clarice Starling, presents very good ideas regarding human behavior, but the circumstances surrounding her involvement in the novel’s plot are very questionable. There also exists a third level of believability in detective  novels which includes many aspects that are very much part of everyday life for many people, like in Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone. The main character of this novel, Ree Dolly, is herself very realistic, as are her reasons for becoming a sort of investigator. No matter how realistic Ree’s world is, though, none should be fooled into thinking that only this last category presents something to be learned; all three types of detective novels present their readers with some inclination towards true human nature, whether in the criminals, the detectives, or both.

        Miami Blues presents its readers with both criminal and detective being fairly unrealistic. The book starts off on its rampage of improbable happenings with Freddy killing an airport-dwelling Krishna, Martin. By simply bending his middle finger back, Freddy manages to end this man’s life within five minutes, supposedly due to shock. While undoubtedly painful and possibly life-threatening if untreated, breaking the Krishna’s finger should not have caused death by the means in which the book describes. Willeford appears to contradict himself in this matter since he writes that Martin died within five or six minutes, but then has Doc Evans say, “Shock usually takes fifteen or twenty minutes. But I’m not making any guesses. For all I know, without examining the body, there could be a bullet hole in him” (10). Clearly the person qualified to determine the cause of death for Martin does not believe the circumstances himself, so expecting the audience to accept the death-by-broken-finger-in-five-minutes explanation is expecting too much.

Willeford continues with his laughable schemes in the very next chapter when Freddy, Martin’s killer, just so happens to receive Martin’s little sister as a prostitute in his hotel room. Neither of the characters had met before, and “Pepper,” also known as Susan, was sent to Freddy’s room based on the clothing size he gave to her pimp. The level of improbability in these two characters coming together as lovers is sky high. As if the hooker scenario was not unbelievable enough, Willeford writes that the two not only go on a dinner date together, but also that Freddy, the ex-convict, follows his prostitute to English class, where Hoke Mosely picks them up to identify Martin’s body. Although Hoke may be a good detective, in this case he is practically handed his perpetrator. The absurd plotline does not end there, though. Hoke has a bite to eat with the new-found couple, and in the process begins to suspect Freddy’s past  partially based on his muscles, even taking the time to ask him if he “pump[s] a little iron” (41). Later, Hoke tells Henderson about his experience: “Susan’s boyfriend was with her when I took her down to the morgue. He’s an ex-con, I’m positive, and strong enough to break someone’s arm” (63). Unlike Hoke, many people would take a look at a college student (or so Freddy claims to be) and would not think twice if he had either big muscles or none; many colleges have gyms, many people have some sort of home gym, many people work out with the basics they are born with (push-ups, jogging, etc.). Freddy could have passed for a college student just as well with no muscles, too; good physical condition does not automatically equal ex-con.

Join now!

Willeford ends his novel as ridiculously as he began it. Hoke has caught on to Freddy’s crimes and is able to track down his residence. After Freddy has shot two people (without Hoke knowing), Hoke enters Freddy’s residence without warning, and points his gun at Freddy. After telling Freddy to raise his hands, the murderer asks, “What’ll you do if I don’t, old man, shoot me? And what are you doing in my house? Where’s your warrant?” (174). When Freddy brings up the very recent shootings, Willeford writes in that Hoke is “genuinely puzzled” and has to ask what happened ...

This is a preview of the whole essay