This essay is in response to question 1 on the 2022 paper 2 elements of crime which features a car chase. I obtained an A* for this particular question. The extract itself should be available somewhere.
Explore the significance of elements of crime writing in the extract
The opening of the extract is used to create tension in the way that it plunges the
contemporary reader into the centre of the action in the middle of a chase, creating a sense
of intrigue a mystery. It appears that two characters, Martin and Laura, have stolen a
valuable painting and the seems that they are being pursued by the owner of the painting.
Structurally, it this section could appear near the end of the novel at the climax of the story.
When the extract opens, the reader is positioned to be on side with the criminals and the
use of the first person focalises the attention on Martin and, the pursuer’s wife, Laura.
Perhaps, using the first person pronoun enables the reader to understand the protagonist’s
situation and sympathise with his criminal actions. Whilst they are stealing the picture, it
seems that they are trying to escape. The fast pace of the narrative is characteristic of crime
fiction, and it conveys the excitement of the chase. The fragmented sentences such as ‘no,
not yet’ helps to conveys a sense of desperation. Furthermore, the use of the comparative
adjectives ‘closer’, combined with the adverb ‘rapidly’ heighten the distress and sense of
terror. Moreover, the vivid tense, ‘I look in the mirror again’ cultivates immediacy and
plunges the reader into the criminal act and creates a frantic car chase that thrills the
reader. Akin to crime fiction, at this point, the reader seems to be on the side of the criminal
and wants Martin and Laura to succeed in their criminal act.
The risk and uncertainty of the chase is a classic feature of crime fiction. For example, in Jack
Reacher novels, the main protagonist hunts down criminal in pursuit of justice. In some
cases, agents kill Jack Reacher, as he is perceived a threat to society. In a similar way, the
chase keeps the reader compelled and on edge, akin to the chases in James Bond novels. In
keeping with crimes, and James Bond novels, the car chase is dangerous and life-
threatening. At one point, the cars are ‘running side by side in mad parallel’. The use of the
prepositional phrase ‘mad parallel’ is using to heighten the danger. Plus, the use of dialogue
heightens the danger and terror experienced by those being pursued. ‘Faster!’ cries Laura’.’
The use of the exclamative and the use of the verb ‘cries’ places Laura in a subordinate
position. Whilst she is positioned as an accessory to the crime, she is also placed as the
victim and shown to be subordinate by the fact that she needs to be rescued by men. In
many crime texts, the women are preyed upon as the victims, for example in Oliver Twist, in
the case of Nancy, and in ‘The Lovely Bones’, Susie Salmon is raped and murder by a man.
Critic, Adam LeBor argued that too many women are positioned as victims in crime novels,
reflecting the patriarchal subordination of the past, which still seems to be present in
modern crime fiction.
A common trope of crime fiction the appears in this extract is the way that the criminal is
punished by external forces. As Martin tries to steal the painting and ‘rescue’ a great piece
of artistry, the fire levels the crime and destroys the painting that Martin was ironically
trying to save. In trying to save the artwork, Martin seems to bring about the destruction of
it. Fire seems to be used to destroy in the way that humans are unable to. The final one line
paragraph represents the loss: ‘Man, trees, mountains sky – they’re all vanished into
blackness forever’. The use of the dash heightens the loss that Martin has suffered and
Martin’s psychological obsession with the painting has been purged by the fire. The
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