Olivia
So
Christina
Black
ENGL
1147-101
16
December 2013
Running and Pushing
Running
and Pushing is to highlight the relationship between the main male and
female of this course's detective fiction novels. The painting conveys the
idea, according S.S. Van Dine's rules, "love has no place in detective
fiction" (Todorov 49). In The Spy
Who Came In From The Cold and The
Reluctant Fundamentalist, the male characters cannot complete their tasks
without thinking about their love. The couples do not receive a happily-ever-after,
instead subjected to a twisted romance involving third parties. In Our Man in Havana, there is a happy
ending for Wormold and Beatrice, but it does not come without its trials. The
painting focuses on the love story, and not the outcome. The painting will not
tell its viewers if the male does reach the female because in all these novels
the outcomes are not certain.
The painting uses a dark background
to show that whenever there is a male and female character, their relationship
will always be engulfed in a dangerous tone. The swirling colors symbolize the tumultuous
love these characters experience. Love becomes a dangerous venture in detective
fiction because of the tasks set out. Todorov writes that in this genre the
characters steps out of his safety circle, and in these particular novels, when
the spy is endangered so is his beloved. The painting must set a dark mood,
with no light in sight. It is ambiguous about a happy ending because it may not
always come. The detective genre is not a happy medium, many times revealing
the darkest secrets of countries and espionage.
Concerning the novels, the man in
the painting is running to protect his lady. But he is not only running to the
lady, he must also rush to complete his assigned tasks quickly and successfully
to reach her. Although the female is the larger silhouette, she is not the
dominant figure in the painting. Rather the male must reach her and finish his task
before she gets harmed and become an insignificant part of the novel. Yet the
female does not run to him. Although all the females in the novels are
desperate to help and protect their love, they remain stationary as the lady in
the painting. The male runs to her; as she is the anchor in a world where the
smallest clue can shift the investigation.
The man is not running on solid
ground because the spies never have a set course, constantly changing their
plans to complete their tasks. He must improvise whenever there is a new clue,
leading to changing paths. He runs through a void of space, unsure of where he
is exactly going, as the three spies must constantly learn from their
surroundings. They do not know if their love is sanctioned, but still chase or
yearn after it, regardless of the consequences. The females play a bigger role
in their lives than any of males let on; letting each other be shrouded in
darkness avoiding full acknowledgement of their love until it is too late. It
spurs their dark love, especially in The
Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The
Reluctant Fundamentalist where readers are unsure if their love was
realized by both sides at the end. These novels also do not possess an apparent
Watson figure, someone to anchor the spy. Ideally the female is the anchor, to
hold down the spy in his investigation. Although the female is stationary, it
does not mean she is rooted. Both are easily swayed by each other and third
parties.
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez is rendered unable to
function, chasing after Erica before she fades away from his life. Even when
she disappears or dies, Changez tries to "[issue] a firefly's glow bright
enough to transcend the boundaries of continents and civilizations" (Hamid
184). But to say it is a firefly's means it is a fleeting glow. Like how my
painting only captures a single second in the chase, before something might go
terribly wrong, Changez views his relationship with Erica as a brief moment. Being
the object of Changez's affection, Erica perfectly fits the role of having the
male run towards her. Yet Erica is not an anchor for she does not help and
encourage Changez. She only remains still because she is unable to move towards
Changez because of her past love. No matter how much she cares for Changez,
Erica is unable to show her feelings due to what is holding her back.
In John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, the
characters are told what to do, like how the characters in my paintings are
forced to perform certain actions. Liz and Leamas are stuck in Control's hands;
"to find the humanity in people, in [Liz] and whoever else they use, to
turn it like a weapon in their hands, and use it to hurt and kill" (Le
Carre 117). Like how the painter chooses what the characters must do and their
final outcome, Control chooses how exactly to use Leamas and Liz's love to push
along their plans. But their love does not bring about a fundamental change in
the plot because Mundt would have been freed, regardless who was there. This makes
the love story purely for Leamas and Liz, allowing it to blend into the
background, in this case the plan. Control already has their plan, they just
need the pieces to move. Regardless Leamas still runs hoping to fulfill his
role, so he can regain his old life. Leamas understands the importance of Liz,
not to Control but to him. He is running towards her to protect her, even if it
may mean he needs to change direction and run away from her. Although their
love culminates to death, Leamas is able to stop running with Liz; escaping the
life of a spy he begun to dread.
In Our Man in Havana, the painting symbolizes something completely
different. Beatrice is not a stationary character, possessing more learned experience
in espionage than Wormold will ever have. She becomes the character that is
able to sway and persuade the male character, such as telling Wormold to check
on his subagents. The female is not a side character anymore earning her place
as the larger figure; she prompts Wormold to develop as a spy and a person. An
evolution in Wormold's behavior occurs only because Beatrice brings it about.
She brings about this wind of change to Wormold, seen through the barely
visible blue wisps. Still like all the other male characters, he is running to
his goal and girl. Wormold needs to save Beatrice and Milly when his mistakes
"strike at what [he] loves" (Hammett 172). Saving his loved ones
becomes the key to saving himself, allowing him to face the consequences. The
painting is not for their ending, rather for the uncertain times in their relationship
and the novel.
The idea for the painting came
because this is a reoccurring theme and plotline in all the novels, where the
male finds something else than his job that intrigues him. But the female is
not allowed to take part in the investigation, instead left as someone who is
only pushing the detective or spy along, becoming the prize at the end of the
venture. However the push these females give continuously brings about the
climax of the story. They are not side characters anymore, whether it be
because they are forced to or they make it so themselves, instead holding great
power over the behaviors and emotions of the spy. The females are not given
what they deserve in this genre, especially since all the spies are male in the
novels of the course. Yet I feel like I am abandoning the detective genre. My
painting can be generally seen as a simple chase for love, but it is with
context that it becomes relevant to the genre. The love story plays an
important role, not for the plot but character development.
Works Cited
Greene,
Graham. Our Man in Havana. New York:
Penguin, 2007.
Hamid, Mohsin. The
Reluctant Fundamentalist. Boston: Mariner, 2013. Print.
Le Carré, John. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
New York: Penguin Classics, 2012. Print.
Todorov,
Tzvetan. "The Typology of Detective
Fiction." The Poetics of Prose. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1977. 44-52.
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