Poe Post
Genuinely impressive: "A person passing out through this window might have reclosed it, and the spring would have caught-but the nail could not have been replaced...The assassins must have escaped through the other window. Supposing, then, the springs upon each sash to be the same, as was probable, there must be a found difference between the nails, or at least between the modes of their fixture" (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 216).
This passage follows his realization out of nowhere that the windows have the power to fasten themselves. It's somewhat impressive that he realizes that the windows are similar, and if the assassin hadn't escaped from the first window, then he must have escaped from the second window. He also realizes that if the second window is similar then it must be a nail that was different. He proceeds to carefully investigate the second window where he discovers a broken nail. This indicates that the assassin escaped through there.
Baldly Untenable: "Here is a billet of wood, the circumference of which is about that of the throat...'This,' I said, 'is the mark of no human hand.' 'Read now," replied Dupin, "this passage from Cuvier'"(Murders in the Rue Morgue, 221).
At first, I thought it was completely ridiculous that they immediately decided that it was an orangutan hand that committed the crime, but then I googled a picture of an orangutan hand, and it does look slightly different from a human hand. Initially, I was wondering what if it was just a guy with big hands that committed the crime? But since orangutan hands actually do look different, I can accept the fact that it isn't the mark of a human hand. My main issue with this quote is that Dupin just has a passage (from Cuvier) about Orangutans on him at that very moment. Why does he just have a reading about orangutans on him? That isn't a normal thing that people have on them and nobody even makes a remark about this in the story. It's just too convenient that he decides that it's an orangutan hand and then immediately has a reading to back up his weird theory.
Questionable: "On the hearth were thick tresses-very thick tresses-of gray human hair" (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 220).
"'Dupin!' I said, completely unnerved; 'this hair is most unusual-this is no human hair" (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 221).
My only question here was that I thought orangutans had orange/reddish hair and not grey hair. As a result I was wondering how this piece of evidence led them to the eventual conclusion that an orangutan committed the murders.
This passage follows his realization out of nowhere that the windows have the power to fasten themselves. It's somewhat impressive that he realizes that the windows are similar, and if the assassin hadn't escaped from the first window, then he must have escaped from the second window. He also realizes that if the second window is similar then it must be a nail that was different. He proceeds to carefully investigate the second window where he discovers a broken nail. This indicates that the assassin escaped through there.
Baldly Untenable: "Here is a billet of wood, the circumference of which is about that of the throat...'This,' I said, 'is the mark of no human hand.' 'Read now," replied Dupin, "this passage from Cuvier'"(Murders in the Rue Morgue, 221).
At first, I thought it was completely ridiculous that they immediately decided that it was an orangutan hand that committed the crime, but then I googled a picture of an orangutan hand, and it does look slightly different from a human hand. Initially, I was wondering what if it was just a guy with big hands that committed the crime? But since orangutan hands actually do look different, I can accept the fact that it isn't the mark of a human hand. My main issue with this quote is that Dupin just has a passage (from Cuvier) about Orangutans on him at that very moment. Why does he just have a reading about orangutans on him? That isn't a normal thing that people have on them and nobody even makes a remark about this in the story. It's just too convenient that he decides that it's an orangutan hand and then immediately has a reading to back up his weird theory.
Questionable: "On the hearth were thick tresses-very thick tresses-of gray human hair" (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 220).
"'Dupin!' I said, completely unnerved; 'this hair is most unusual-this is no human hair" (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 221).
My only question here was that I thought orangutans had orange/reddish hair and not grey hair. As a result I was wondering how this piece of evidence led them to the eventual conclusion that an orangutan committed the murders.
Nice analysis. Some parts of the story seem like Poe was trying too hard to show off and impress readers with his knowledge, and that of his character, and deducing that it was an orangutan is definitely one of them. But he did have a plan in place to try to confirm his theory, just like Holmes with the note that the moat was going to be drained.
ReplyDeleteI like the quote you chose for the genuinely impressive passage. Dupin's deduction about the windows was logical but also felt realistic. There were points in the story when I felt that Poe stretched it too far, and the string of reasoning seemed too perfect that it was not fathomable. In addition, the quotes who chose for your question are actually referencing two types of hair found at the crime scene. The first quote refers to Madame L'Espanaye's hair while the second quote focuses on the hair of the orangutan found in her hand. That part confused me as well, and I had to go over those passages a second time to understand the difference between the two.
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