James M. Cain s Double Indemnity Essay - 855 Words

James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity is a typically literary work of roman noir genre, adapted for a film later. The story itself is about a premeditated murder planned by the married femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger and her secret lover Walter Huff, specifically consistent with roman noir genre. Phyllis Nirdlinger is a typical femme fatale in this novel. She seduces the insurance agent Huff regardless of her own husband. For example, â€Å"She pulled me to her and kissed back† (Cain ch2), â€Å"I liked you all the time† (Cain ch2) and many other flirty words in the novel. What’s worse, in order to capture the money from her husband, she manages to kill him with Huff. Sex and money, as the main themes of roman noir genre, are the two main motifs of this novel as well. The story happens in Glendale of California (Cain ch1), which is explained in the very beginning of the novel. This kind of setting implies its specific roman noir genre convention. â€Å"A dark railroad track in the middle of the night... a dirty road...vacant lots† (Cain ch7). The description of the surrounding environment of the railroad track has the clarified mark of roman noir genre. The ending of Double Indemnity is a huge misery. Huff could not get rid of the nightmare after cruelly killing Mr. Nirdlinger, psychologically ill. In the same time, he has large divergence with his lover Mrs. Nirdlinger. Their intimate relationship breaks up. Finally Huff commits a suicide with his lover after his crime being discovered. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Postman Always Rings Twice By Dashiell Hammett And The Maltese Falcon As A Hard Boiled Story950 Words   |  4 PagesDashiell Hammett. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain. It caused a scandal with its explosive mix of violence and sex. The torrid story of Frank Chambers, the amoral drifter, Cora, the sullen and brooding wife, and Nick Papadakis, the amiable but inconvenient husband, has become a classic of its kin d, and established Cain as a major novelist with a spare and vital prose style and a bleak vision of America. Cain’s another work Double Identity. Here, Walter Huff is an insurance investigatorRead MoreAnti Hero By James M. Cain1586 Words   |  7 PagesSporting a fedora, suit and a cigarette in hand, leaning against a wall, the captivating anti-hero stands double crossed in the stereotypical L.A. noir genre. Right in the heat of World War II noir started to rise to the top and become a popular source of entertainment and instant distraction from reality. Many people were drawn to the anti-hero; they were drawn to the flawed characters who were the â€Å"heroes† despite their flaws. A hero embodies what people want to be, most consider noir anti-hero’sRead MoreLiterature : The Mirror Of Society1332 Words   |  6 Pagesmedia is developing fast in the 21st century, some commenting area became a type of genre where people express themselves with critical or argu able words. Another example of genre Noir. This type of genre has conventions such as cigarette smoking, double -cross, murder investigations, heists, female fatale and the plot that innocent men or women wrongly accused of crime. It appears during the 40s to the 50s, when the World War II just ended. Noir film incorporates crime dramas with dark images, becameRead MoreThe Studio System Essay14396 Words   |  58 Pagescomplete control over design decisions, the personnel of the department, the assignment of tasks, and the attribution of credit. In the autocratic system that prevailed at MGM Gibbons had complete control. According to the director, Pandro S. Berman, He was the most influential person on the lot except for the owners, Nick Schenk in New York and Louis B. Mayer in Culver City (Affron 17). Gibbons was nominated for the Academy Award for Art Direction 40 times. He received