The Murders in the Rue Morgue

What makes a short story great? Great characters? A great plot? Whatever it is, it does not have as much time to develop as a novel does. However, in limited space, author Edgar Allan Poe creates a brilliant, suspenseful, and brain wracking story. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" begins by comparing the analytical mind to the game of chess. Eventually, Poe ties in the occurrences of a bizarre incident with a flashback to 18--. Through analyzing the scene and using clues and witnesses' testimonies, a character of great analytical power solves a murder mystery that no one else can even remotely get a grasp on. The story may sound ordinary at first, but upon the completion of the novel, a doubtful reader can change his mind. Edgar Allan Poe's utilization of different literary and writing techniques and his unique development of the story allow readers to indulge in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The story is set in first person where an unnamed narrator serves as a character that exists for the sole reason of illustrating the abilities of Dupin's mind. Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin is the main problem solver of the story, a gentleman from an aristocratic family but is reduced to poverty. As the narrator tells the story, certain thought processes are kept from the reader until L'Auguste Dupin reveals the facts. The reader only sees and knows the facts the investigators and narrators do. In doing so, the story is more suspenseful of the reader, and the conclusion takes the reader by surprise. The narration is broken up into paragraphs of various lengths, all of which contain long and detailed sentences. Each sentence is full with fragments and clauses with unique and comprehensible wording. When describing an analyst's intellect, the narrator says, "Deprived of ordinary resources, the analyst throws himself into the spirit of his opponent, identifies himself therewith, and not unfrequently sees thus, at a glance, the sole methods (sometimes indeed absurdly simple