Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Pursuit of Happiness and Crime Fiction

Rebekah Schott
Pursuit of Happiness and Crime Fiction
Authors Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie wrote themselves into history by creating the ideal perfect detectives that captured the attention of readers everywhere and whose literature has stood the test of time. Even today, these twentieth century works capture readers imagination, not only for the brilliantly written detective mysteries/adventures, but also for the underlying themes that speak to readers today and as long as money is king. Although money may not buy happiness, it sure does buy a lot of other things essential to survival. If the dead could speak, they might even say that money does buy happiness and is the biggest motivation for crime since time began. Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes during the Victorian Era when England had a “cut-throat” class system that confined and limited many people. The Victorian Era was a wonderful time to be alive if one had money and high social standing: yet, a terrible time to be alive if one did not. Although we do not see much of the latter part in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie’s most famous works, we do see the crimes that stem from this motivation- money. The idea of happiness is a hotly debated subject in our philosophy class. Religious people think that the bible, a guideline for achievement in life, should be followed and the Ten Commandments not disobeyed. Some just follow a set of rules by the government to achieve order in the community. Both of these groups follow these sets of rules regardless of whether it brings them happiness. Others believe that they would rather not follow anyone’s rule and do what makes them happy. I will show how the acquisition of money is often the motivation for crime using literature of the twentieth century. Crimes related to the acquisition of money are committed for a number of reasons including: spite and resentment, rebellion, but mostly advancement in social class to gain “happiness.” In Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie’s most famous detective works, social classes are conveyed as strictly segregated and accepted as a natural part of life until disruption of the social system due to crime upsets the social order in which the detective restores order. What is significant about these works is the underlying themes they address that still relate to the present day, but what captivates readers is the idea of a hero that will save the day. Too bad no such thing exists in reality, although many people seek such a “hero” in their religious views.
In the several works by Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, class functions to define who people are and what they are capable of doing. Although this may not always be true, one cannot say that social status is not visited or considered when a crime is at hand. Social classes ultimately define a person by limiting them. In most cases, with a few exceptions, money is what separates these social classes. Social classes are also determined by how one obtained the money in question. It is by this limiting factor, money, which most crimes are committed because the accused is motivated to live the life they have not and could not without money.
Most crimes in Conan Doyle and Christie’s works are committed to improve one’s social status. Such is the case in Agatha Christie’s movie adaption of Murder on Orient Express, when Cassetti infamously kidnaps and murders young Daisy Armstrong to gain a large ransom from the wealthy family (VHS). In some cases, social status improvement is not always the motivation. Since most income in the upper class comes from inherited land or investments, when this income runs dry, these inhabitants of the upper class have no other way to earn an income and the idea of losing their current social status is unthinkable. The idea of becoming poor or losing social status is the motivation for these other crimes. Such is the case in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, when Dr. Sheppard blackmails his neighbor and then kills his closest friend as not to be discovered (Christie, 150-170). Dr. Sheppard was already part of the middle class and associated with the best upper class gentlemen, yet he needed money. This need drove him to a commit a double crime in order to remain in his class. Such is also the case in Conan Doyle’s Adventure of the Speckled Band when Dr. Roylott plots to kill off his late wife’s remaining children in order to gain their inheritance because his is running out (Doyle). As depicted here, not only can money be an object of status, but also of greed.
The second motivation for crimes is spite due to the resentment of being in a lower class. In Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia, Irene Adler and the King of Bohemia are involved in an affair that is not accepted by his other class members. Although the king loved and adored Ms. Adler, she is a retired operative stage performer and well-known adventuress (7), and is not on his “level” (18). The king remarks, “I wish she had been of my own station! What a queen she would have made!” (17). Ms. Adler is hurt by her rejection due to her class and wants to hurt the king back by releasing a photo proving their affair that will surely result in his soon-to-be-bride’s rejection. Not only does the king not marry Ms. Adler because of her social standing, but he is also scared of the photo showing his connection to a woman of lower status surfacing and jeopardizing his future arrangements.
The third and last motivation for crimes seen in Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie’s detective literature is rebellion. In Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Red-Headed League, John Clay is not only known as the grandson of a royal duke, but also as a “murderer, thief, smasher, and forger” (32). The only deducible reason for his actions is rebellion. John Clay has “royal blood,” yet he is bored and wants more so he makes an elaborate display of working as an assistant in order to deceive the owner while he plans to rob the bank down the street of a huge reserve sum by digging a hole beneath the owner’s shop that deposits him into the bank (34).
Regardless of which type of motivation for the crimes is subject, the main reason for the creation of the ideal detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot is to bring back order to a world whose frayed edges keep showing. We all seek a “hero”or some higher being to give us the feeling of protection. When this feeling of protection is not achieved, people like to blame their chosen “hero” or God. In reality, no such protection exists because humans all sin and commit crimes that result in hurting others because God gave us free will. Free will is the ability to choose your decisions knowing full-well the consequences. Because human beings refuse to accept the person beside you is your worst enemy, we choose to blame our chosen idol when things do not go our way. Until we realize that our happiness can be the cause of someone else’s sadness, and we are at fault for our own choices, writers will continue to create “heroes” in fiction as we create “heroes” in our heads.
In conclusion, in Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie’s most famous detective works, social classes are conveyed as strictly segregated and accepted as a natural part of life until disruption of the social system due to crime upsets the social order in which the detective restores order. The fact that Conan Doyle even stops to criticize the class system shows that the social classes are not distinctly segregated as the authors would like to believe. People who are well-spoken and clever are sometimes in a lower class like Irene Adler due to lack of inheriting money or a good name. In contrast, John Clay bears a good name with royal blood, yet commits crimes at the level of what these authors might say of the lower class. Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie would like to believe that everything is right and good in the world and social classes are natural, but no one would believe that story. Therefore, they create the ideal detectives to act as heroes to restore the order that they think should exist in class systems threatened by crimes. Because human beings believe happiness is the sole reason they were given life, crimes are committed in order to achieve this “happiness.” Most seek a “hero” or some higher being to give us the feeling of protection resembling fictions “detectives” when crimes in the pursuit of happiness threaten their ideal world. I do not know exactly why humans were put on this earth, but I do know that someone chose humans out of all the animals to be the most advanced and we are here to serve a purpose more intellectual than the simple fulfillment of happiness. This is not to say happiness is not a reason to live, but it should not be the sole reason for living IN MY EXPERT OPINION. Crime fiction of the twentieth century is still relevant today and its underlying themes will stand the test of time for centuries if humans continue on this ignorant pursuit of happiness that threatens the lives of others.
*Disclaimer: These are my opinions which can be argued with, but obviously not proven or disproved. Thus, they are JUST opinions and my intellectual critique of crime fiction.




Christie, Agatha. Murder of Roger Ackroyd. London: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1926.

Doyle, Conan. “AScandal in Bohemia.” The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: George Newnes, 1892.

Doyle, Conan. “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League.” The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes. New York: George Newnes, 1892.

Doyle, Conan. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: George Newnes, 1892.

Murder on Orient Express. Dir. Carl Schenkel. EMI, 1974. VHS.

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