Although "hard" stories became a popular literary genre in the early to mid-20th century, these writers were not the first to create characters and stories in this genre. The first creators of the tough detective were preceded by the first "hard" literary detective, Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Although Poe is credited with inventing detective fiction in stories such as Murders and The Purloined Letter, his most "black" story is The Man in the Crowd. It is commonly believed among literary critics that the narrator of Poe's The Man from the Crowd is not of sound mind. They often emphasize the phrase that says "in my then particular mental state", which makes it clear that the narrator, at least at the time of the story, did not possess the state of mind of a sane person . However, this idea does not only arise from the content, but also from the style and form. Through the use of specific words, forms, contexts, and content, the reader receives information about the characters in the story, giving them a specific framework within which to interpret those characters. Although the mental health of Poe's narrator is a major issue in the story, so is being a "man of the crowd." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Many words from other languages ​​are incorporated into The Man in the Crowd. Before the main text begins, there is a quote that says: "this great misfortune, of not being able to be alone" ("this great misfortune, of being incapable of being alone"). This quote foreshadows future events: the theme of this story is pointed out; the “man of the crowd” is alone, although this first quote contradicts this fact. Throughout the story, the reader believes that the man the narrator follows around town is strange and "the man of the crowd", but in the end the reader learns that this man is not as strange as it once seemed. Perhaps this goes back to the idea that no matter what you look like, it's not possible to be alone. In addition to this introductory quote, there are several other examples of foreign expressions and words present in the text. In the first line of the text itself there is a German quotation which is found in the last sentence of the text. The French word "ennui" (meaning "boring" or "boring") is also used in the second paragraph, accompanied by a phrase written in a language that is not based on Latin; neither the translation nor the language in which it is written is known to me. One wonders why Poe includes these expressions and words when most people are not familiar with the translations; the most logical reason is to suggest that the narrator is crazy and incapable of keeping languages ​​straight in his mind. This idea is confirmed in the middle of the story: “in my then particular mental state”. Meanwhile, the narrator is not completely sane, thus explaining details and vocabulary taken from foreign languages. The Man in the Crowd is constructed of very detailed sentences that offer long descriptions of characters. The sentences are not short, disconnected thoughts, but rather long, detailed diatribes about the narrator's environment and those around him. The narrator simply sits in a cafe, examining each person who passes by and sorting them into predetermined groups. He goes into specific detail to describe each group of people, detailing the manner and style in which members of the group are dressed, as well asas their hygiene and physical characteristics such as hair color, height and weight. For each group, there is a fixed formula of dress and physical appearance; he simply examines each person, then places them in their proscribed group. The amount of detail and length of many sentences can also serve as indicators of the narrator's mental instability. The style alone opens this possibility, but when combined with the actual content, there is little room for doubt. Poe also includes details about the narrator's surroundings, creating the dark atmosphere of the story and the other characters that fill it. The narrator, however, remains rather mysterious because little information is provided about him. Instead, almost everything the reader learns about the narrator is learned through his actions and vocabulary. Hawthorne's Wakefield is very similar to The Man of the Crowd, in which the main character, much like Poe's narrator, wanders the crowded streets of London in search of "the man of the crowd." However, Poe's narrator follows the man he believes to be his "man in the crowd", while Wakefield tries to become the "man in the crowd" - to add meaning to his own life in his mind, to Poe begins by stating that "it has rightly been said of a certain German book that 'er last sich nicht diminish' - it does not allow itself to be read." At the end of the story, the narrator realizes that the “man of the crowd” whom he has been following for 24 hours cannot be read, exactly as this German book says in the first line of the story. . Once the reader realizes this, he concludes that it is not the man being followed who is "the man in the crowd", but rather the narrator. He follows this man because he does not fit into one of his predetermined groups of people; he is strange, “the man of the crowd”. By the end of the story, however, the reader learns that this person is actually not so strange; he goes about his business like any other person. The reader is thus led to the inevitable conclusion that the narrator is the real “man in the crowd.” This conclusion can even be pushed a little further: the reader believes that the narrator is following this man at random; the action is bizarre in itself and thus makes the narrator the “man in the crowd.” However, the reader also follows a random man – in this case, the narrator. It then becomes obvious that the reader himself could be considered the “man in the crowd,” because he commits the same unusual acts as the narrator. This aspect of the story helps the reader identify with the narrator and helps the reader draw conclusions regarding the narrator's true mental state; Is he really crazy, as most critics believe, or is he just like the reader and perfectly sane? After all, the narrator and the reader are essentially doing the same thing: following a man who seems strange and strange, albeit in different ways. Hawthorne's Wakefield has a similar theme: the story is told by observers who find something strange in the behavior of a resident of a crowded town, a citizen otherwise indistinguishable from those around him. The story describes a man who left his wife and his home in London and moved to another residence a block from his wife's house. He lived there secretly for twenty years without his wife's knowledge, before returning to live his last years at home. Poe's narrator believes that some men cannot be read, such as "the man of the crowd." Hawthorne's narrator is also certain that nothing should interfere with the ability to effectively read someone's character in person, since it is acharacter in a story or book. Hawthorne devotes a considerable portion of the novel to describing Wakefield's life during his twenty years of absence: Wakefield often visits his wife's residence, spies on her, and returns to his own apartment a block away. Like Poe, Hawthorne places his characters on the busy streets of London, making them invisible in the crowd. Wakefield, however, walks into the crowd only to be discovered. He becomes Poe's "man in the crowd," but without Poe's narrator's desire not to know himself. He imagines footsteps following him and a distant voice calling his name, but he cannot escape his own insignificance because he cannot force recognition on anyone other than himself. After ten years of separation, he bumps into his wife one day in a crowded street; they face each other, but although they look straight into each other's eyes, she does not recognize him: he is only a face in the crowd. The narrator travels into the mind of Wakefield's wife to observe that she was partly aware of a quiet selfishness that had faded from her inactive mind. There are three irresistible forces in Wakefield, as constructed by the narrator. It is unclear, however, whether these elements are at odds with Wakefield's character, or whether he presents them as possible motives for his unusual behavior. The first is that, unlike Poe's narrator, Wakefield wants to be seen. He doesn't want to blend into the crowd, he wants to stand out; to be “the man in the crowd”. Wakefield believes he's doing something that makes him stand out, but doesn't believe he can really stand out unless an observer does; his desire to stand out is effectively canceled out. The second constraint is that Wakefield regularly places himself in situations in which he risks being discovered: he continually replays his escape from insignificance in an attempt to appear more significant. . The third compulsion is slightly different: he refuses to go home, because he has been "made obstinate" by "the inadequate sensation which he believed to have been produced in Mrs. Wakefield's bosom." He won’t go back until she’s afraid.” half dead" - until he saw evidence of her mourning. This mourning, he believed, would give him proof that he meant something to her. Wakefield then took advantage of his absence to provoke a reaction of his wife which he will later use to confirm his own significance or insignificance He does not want to give up his life, but rather wishes to live this life at a comfortable distance, building his life based on his wife's response to his absence. . He wants to make a living by connecting his current life, his wife's response to his disappearance, and what he imagines his old life might have been like if he had lived it. In this way, Wakefield hopes to gain some insight. control over his life that he might not have otherwise had, feeling less anonymous, less of a "man in the crowd." Using many different elements to describe the narrator, his mood, and the atmosphere, l he author is able to reinforce the message of the story When all the elements complement each other, the story becomes clearer than it would be if only one element was used to convey its mood and message. Both Poe's narrator and Hawthorne's Wakefield are mysterious characters: they both attempt to stand out, consciously or unconsciously, from the massive crowds of London and become "the man in the crowd." However, at the end of the stories, the reader learns that despite the characters' best efforts, the introductory quote from The Man in the Crowd sums it all up; it is not possible to be alone, to stand out or to be “the man in the crowd”; on the contrary, it is not possible to maintain its553-56.