The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyles The
Hound of the Baskervilles are the two fascinating and incredibly popular detective stories that
have been intriguing, over time, every reader they ever had. And while there may be some
differences between the two as should be not only normal, but necessary as well , the
resemblance is striking, in the sense that Doyles novel may be considered a direct descendant
of Poes innovative work.

Edgar Allan Poes The murders in the Rue Morgue is world-wide known for being the
first detective fiction story and also for being one of his best short stories especially renowned
for its novelty and for being unprecedented , even though Poes merits go so much more
beyond it. There is no doubt whatsoever that Poes protagonist, Auguste Dupin, has been a model
in the minds of the creators of other literary detectives, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyles
Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot. Therefore, there is still one question
remaining unanswered: By whom was Poe influenced in creating his character?

As a matter of fact, Poes spring of inspiration came from reality, more exactly, from
Eugne Franois Vidocq. Being a former criminal who turned around his life, Vidocq believed
that only a former outlaw can understand a criminals mind, using his skills in order to catch the
culprit. Having a fascinating story, the French criminalist became very famous at the time and
some important writers, such as Honor de Balzac, Victor Hugo and Edgar Allan Poe portrayed
characters that resembled in any sort of way the real life detective. The fact that Vidocq was a
source of inspiration is also acknowledged in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, as Dupin
criticizes Vidocq, describing him as "a good guesser, and a persevering man. But, without
educated thought, he erred continually by the very intensity of his investigations".

In the exact same way, in A Study in Scarlet, Holmes criticizes his predecessor that in
this case is actually Dupin and simultaneously Doyle acknowledges his protagonists origins:

"Now in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of
breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an

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 hour's silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius,
no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to
imagine."

Therefore, even in the matter of acknowledging their sources, Poe and Doyle use the
same narrative mechanism to recognize the merits of their predecessors, but also to demonstrate
that their character is better at the detective job.

As Poe was the first to create and use the detective story genre, he might be called a
trendsetter, as he developed a prototype for a detective character that bases his investigations
on deduction and observing not only seeing patterns of behavior. Dupin reveals to the reader
how he knew that his companion was thinking about the height of Chantilly by beautifully
explaining his train of thought. In the same manner, we get into Holmes mind, especially at the
end of the novel, when we get to understand the outcome of his investigations.

The list of similarities between the two works of art is yet to be concluded, because above
the fact that the two main characters share the same traits genius, deduction and observational
skills there is also a likeness in the way the narration is presented. The narrator the
anonymous companion for Dupin and Dr. Watson for Sherlock gives us a third person limited
perspective that skillfully manipulates the reader. By using this particular point of view, we do
not get to solve the crimes through the eyes of the protagonists which would make us think
less of Dupin and Holmes, as we would take for granted their process of reasoning , but we
stick to the limited, normal minds of their friends. Thus, the effect of uncertainty, the mystery
and the suspense are heightened as we simply get to be witnesses with a limited quantity of
information.

Moreover, in the relationship between these two particular stories there is another
element of resemblance that involves the content of the plot: the two share the theme of the
animal as a culprit. This is a quite compelling element to analyze, especially in regard to the
effect it has on the reader. In a detective story, it is usually expected to have a human guilty of
the crime and the reader finds a great deal of satisfaction in seeing the lawbreaker get punished
for his crime. However, Poe does not offer this to his audience, and while it only may be found

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guilty of its irrational nature, the orangutan acts without any premeditation in killing the two
women. Doyle, on the other hand, writing after Poe did, got the chance to learn from his
predecessors oversights and improved the plot. Thus, the British writer resources to a more
satisfying solution for his public: he offers a real culprit in the person of Mr. Stapleton, who has
been using the poor, unaware animal for his own malevolent intentions. Here, the guilty charge is
nuanced and deciding who the real killer is may come as a further issue, because even though he
is behind the whole story, Mr. Stapleton did not kill anyone directly.

The main difference between the two is that, while Poe has a very concentrated short
story, presenting the plot without any deviation from the main investigation, Doyle has turned his
story into a novel, with a more complex plot that offers the reader many captivating twists and
that through the greater length increases the suspense as well. Therefore, we can argue that
Poes anonymous narrator does not have the talent of a great storyteller, while Watson is the
more poetic sort of a narrator, who likes to delightfully wrap his story in details and
descriptions.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Hound of the Baskervilles are two fundamental
detective stories that represent the cornerstone of this genre and even if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
may have had the advantage of improving and refining the structure and content, he never would
have done it if werent for Edgar Allan Poes genius. Through the American writers invention of
the detective story and Doyles improvements, the readers got the chance to enjoy extraordinary
and incredibly fascinating literary works, which have most importantly their primordial
origins in the reality of a French criminal criminalist.

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