首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits
admin
2014-07-25
44
问题
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits and on the other to castigate her as a genre writer who is getting above herself. Perhaps underlying the debate is that familiar, false opposition set up between different kinds of fiction, according to which enjoyable novels are held to be somehow slightly lowbrow, and a novel is not considered true literature unless it is a tiny bit dull.
Those commentators who would elevate James’ books to the status of high literature point to her painstakingly constructed characters, her elaborate settings, her sense of place, and her love of abstractions: notions about morality, duty, pain, and pleasure are never far from the lips of her police officers and murderers. Others find her pretentious and tiresome; an inverted snobbery accuses her of abandoning the time-honored conventions of the detective genre in favor of a highbrow literary style. The critic Harriet Waugh wants P. D. James to get on with "the more taxing business of laying a tricky trail and then fooling the reader"; Philip Oakes in The Literary Review groans, "Could we please proceed with the business of clapping the handcuffs on the killer?"
James is certainly capable of strikingly good writing. She takes immense trouble to provide her characters with convincing histories and passions. Her descriptive digressions are part of the pleasure of her books and give them dignity and weight. But it is equally true that they frequently interfere with the story; the patinas and aromas of a country kitchen receive more loving attention than does the plot itself. Her devices to advance the story can be shameless and thin, and it is often impossible to see how her detective arrives at the truth; one is left to conclude that the detective solves crimes through intuition. At this stage in her career P. D. James seems to be less interested in the specifics of detection than in her characters’ vulnerabilities and perplexities.
However, once the rules of a chosen genre cramp creative thought, there is no reason why an able and interesting writer should accept them. In her latest book, there are signs that James is beginning to feel constrained by the crime-novel genre, here her determination to leave areas of ambiguity in the solution of the crime and to distribute guilt among the murderer, victim, and bystanders points to conscious rebellion against the traditional neatness of detective fiction. It is fashionable, though reprehensible, for one writer to prescribe to another. But perhaps the time has come for P. D. James to slide out of her handcuffs and stride into the territory of the mainstream novel.
It can be inferred from the passage that, in the author’s view, traditional detective fiction is characterized by______.
选项
A、attention to the concepts of morality and responsibility
B、concern for the weaknesses and doubts of the characters
C、transparent devices to advance the plot
D、the straightforward assignment of culpability for the crime
答案
D
解析
推断题。文中第二段是比较P. D.James的犯罪小说和传统犯罪小说的区别。从“Philip Oakes in The Literary Review groans,‘Could we please proceed with the business of clapping the handcuffs on the killer?’”可以得出,传统小说更直接。而P.D.James的叙事更为迂回。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/6p0YFFFM
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
MigrationandBusinessI.MigrationMap—sharplinesdivideuptheworldRealworld-—no(1)______betweenlandsII.Twochangesof
MigrationandBusinessI.MigrationMap—sharplinesdivideuptheworldRealworld-—no(1)______betweenlandsII.Twochangesof
WhywastheMuslimAmericanwomanthrownofftheflightaccordingtoSouthwestAirlines?
现在,我国的《红楼梦》研究,可以说是百花烂漫,盛况空前。“中国艺术研究院”设立了“红楼梦研究所”,从事这部伟大小说及其作者的专门研究。目前,已经完成了《红楼梦》新校本的校注和其他若干研究项目。此外,全国各研究机关和大专院校,也都拥有不少从事“红学”研究的专
A、Thehighdivorcerateinthiscountry.B、Theconflictspeopleareconfrontedintheirdailylife.C、Differencesbetweenmenan
Changesinthewaypeoplelivebringaboutchangesinthejobsthattheydo.Moreandmorepeopleliveintownsandcitiesinste
Inanefforttoproducethelargest,fastest,andmostluxuriousshipfloat,theBritishbuilttheTitanic.Itwassosuperiort
Inanefforttoproducethelargest,fastest,andmostluxuriousshipfloat,theBritishbuilttheTitanic.Itwassosuperiort
WhichofthefollowingnovelswasnotwrittenbyThomasHardy?
AbreakthroughintheprovisionofenergyfromthesunfortheEuropeanEconomicCommunity(EEC)couldbebroughtforwardbyup
随机试题
关于用肾上腺糖皮质激素治疗迟发性哮喘的机制,下列哪项不正确
质量计划的作用通常不包括
下列不符合腹型过敏性紫癜临床表现的是
A.氟伐他汀B.非诺贝特C.考来烯胺D.阿昔莫司E.依折麦布以高TG为主血症()
工程造价的有效控制,就是在优化建设方案、设计方案的基础上,采用一定的方法和措施对造价进行控制,下列说法不正确的是( )。
所有错账更正法,均应由记账人员及相关人员在账簿记录更正处盖章以示负责。()
承担支持农业政策性贷款任务的政策性银行是()
结合自己的工作实际,谈谈在今后的工作中如何做到依法执教。
谈谈你的面试表现。
能源短缺已成为世界性的大问题。作为新能源,海洋能日益受到人们的关注。下列有关海洋能的表述,错误的是()。
最新回复
(
0
)