"The Murders in the Rue Morgue", a story by Edgar Allan Poe, is considered one of the first detective novels. Say no to plagiarism. Hire a tailor - essay on " Why should violent video games not be banned"? Get an original essay The story opens with the discovery of the violent murder of an old woman and her daughter No gruesome details are spared in the description of the crime scene is discovered by the neighbors who respond to the women's screams. The police are baffled by the fact that the murderer managed to escape even though the women's apartment appears to have been completely sealed from the inside. With "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", Edgar Allan Poe introduces the prototype of the detective par excellence in literature, in the form of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, whose theory and analytical skills are demonstrated by his ability to solve seemingly impossible cases their services to the police and, through a brilliant interpretation of clues at the scene, identify the killer, an escaped Ourang-Outang. Poe refers to Dupin's method as “ratiocination” = the process of exact thinking; the process of logical reasoning or rational thinking. The key to Dupin's excellent analytical aptitude lies in his ability to imagine the minds of his opponents and to use his understanding of how others think to reconstruct their thoughts - and therefore their actions - in his mind. He loves looking at faces and body language to make inferences, and considers the surface of things to be the best source of clues to what lies beneath them. It is this characteristic that makes Dupin a great detective. He is able to look past the obvious clues that confuse the police (like the four thousand francs on the floor, which the police believe must provide the motive, because who doesn't want a lot of money?) and sees the small details that indicate what really happened at the scene of the crime. crime. Dupin uses not only logic but also creativity to solve his case. The story's epigraph also alludes to the main character's investigative skills. Epigraph: "What songs did the Sirens sing, or what name did Achilles take when he hid among the women, though the perplexing questions are not beyond conjecture." – Sir Thomas Browne; Urn-burialThis quote poses two questions that are impossible to answer. But the passage also says that even if we can't know the exact answers to these questions, we can still have fun guessing them (i.e. making guesses), which is a bit like what the main character (Monsieur Dupin) is doing in the film. tale. He's looking at an impossible series of clues and then arriving, improbably, at the right answer. This epigraph tells us that even the darkest and most ridiculous things are not necessarily immune to human logic. Overall, Dupin is the opposite side of the coin from the criminally insane in Poe's other stories. While Poe's psychotic protagonists cannot even understand the logic of their own thoughts and actions, Dupin specializes in understanding exactly those areas in the minds of others. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom EssayIn its presentation of an amateur detective who uses "reasoning" to solve a seemingly inexplicable mystery, Poe's tale shaped a new genre of fiction. Dupin's imprint can be seen on the protagonists of dozens of other detective novels, the best known of which are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dame Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot..