"Conventional" Wisdom
Term attributed to the ambiguity or sheer meaninglessness of clues; intentional distractors on the author’s part.
What is a red herring?
View that crime is irreparably everywhere - even orangutans get in on it!
What is atavistic?
Causes a criminal to target “normal” people or even the affluent (e.g. John Clay)
What is envy?
Juxtaposition of positive and negative female archetypes (e.g. Natalie and Shelby’s wife).
What is female ambivalence?
The King of Rock and Roll.
Who is Elvis (Presley)?
Readers accused (wrongly) Christie of breaking this convention in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
What is fair play?
A contributing factor to Oedipa Maas's failings as represented by Mucho Maas and Maxwell's Demon.
What is informational entropy?
The "high-voltage" of doing something forbidden (e.g. Dr. James Sheppard).
What is the thrill?
Gothic convention which focuses on class, gender, or cultural issues; an early staple for detective fiction
What is social commentary?
The King of Pop.
Who is Michael Jackson?
Doyle contribution to detectives; a hold over from the doctor-client privilege.
What is discretion?
Poe wrote that human nature is to do this; alludes to detective fiction being a game between author and reader.
What is diddle?
Anti-social behavior with diminished empathy or morality (e.g. Grimsby Roylott or James Moriarty).
What is psychopathy?
Mystery to the point of hopelessness often experienced by the second sleuth.
What is dread?
The King of the Delta Blues
Who is Robert Johnson?
Term that describes the key text which makes the definite connection between worthy adversary and the significant crime.
What is the smoking gun?
Architectural style of patterns that symbolizes Maas's detective process.
Despite its high-percentage of accuracy, it is not admissible as evidence in American courts.
What is the polygraph?
Essential element of gothic that emphasizes the smallness of human ability (i.e. the “first row of a slow class” as compared to the first sleuth).
What is sublime?
The Queen of Soul.
Who is Aretha (Franklin)?
e.g. Clue; all characters have culpability but only one (usually) is the culprit.
What is "who done it?"
Term which refers to the logical, rational mind; Poe claims it alone is not enough to be truly analytical
What is Apollonian?
Requires no room for Murphy's Law (e.g. Truman Harwell).
What is the glass jaw?
Victorian expectations of the feminine which establishes the criteria for the positive aspects of female ambivalence.
What is the Cult of True Womanhood?
The Prince of Darkness.
Who is Ozzy (Osbourne)?