AS A DETECTIVE FICTION

OR
IDA AS THE UNCONVENTIONAL DETECTIVE
OR
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
OR
THEME OF JUSTICE

INTRODUCTION

In "Ways of Escape," Graham Greene says that he started "Brighton Rock" in 1937 as a
detective story, but only the first fifty pages still resemble that genre. He claims he would
have removed those pages if he had been strong enough. However, this claim seems
misleading because the detective story structure is deeply embedded in the novel and can't
simply be cut out by removing a few pages. Despite what Greene says, "Brighton Rock"
remains a detective story among other things.The novel incorporates elements of reading
and interpretation, much like a detective story, which is about solving and understanding
clues. Scenes of reading are frequent in the narrative, and the detective story structure
provides a larger framework for the investigation of a criminal's deceptions. This focus on
reading highlights various ways of interpreting the novel, suggesting that it always reflects
the critic's process of reading and understanding, much like the candy stick that always
reveals "Brighton Rock" when broken.

BODY PART

In "Brighton Rock," the character Ida Arnold plays a role similar to detectives in classic
detective stories by authors like Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, or Dorothy Sayers. Ida
takes on the job of investigating Hale's death. She examines clues and listens to witnesses
to piece together what really happened to Hale. In doing this, she acts like a reader or critic
of "Brighton Rock," who analyzes the text to develop their own understanding and
interpretation of the story. In "Brighton Rock," it's clear early on that Pinkie's gang is involved
in Hale's death, though the exact details remain unclear throughout the novel. After Hale
dies, Ida starts her own investigation to bring Pinkie to justice and protect Rose from the
suffering Pinkie will cause her. Additionally, Ida sees her quest as an opportunity to have
some fun.

In "Brighton Rock," it's quickly apparent to readers familiar with detective stories that Ida is
treated differently than the great detectives like Dupin, Holmes, Poirot, Wimsey, or
Miss Marple. Though she shares some lineage with these characters, the narrative mocks
Ida, highlighting her limited understanding of the case and the world around her. Ida
sees Brighton as a fun and exciting place, and she views life as inherently "good,"
with "deadly seriousness" but is unable to see beneath the surface. Her view of life is
filled with physical sensations and pleasures, like sunlight on brass bedposts, Ruby port,
and the thrill of backing a winning outsider at the races.
Ida's naive optimism, which has "something dangerous and remorseless" about it, and
her inability to perceive deeper meanings, undermine her credibility as an interpreter
of events and contribute to the ironic tone in her descriptions. She embodies the
middle law-abiding class with their amusements and superstitions. However, Greene's irony
criticizes Ida and her class, suggesting she is vastly different from fictional detectives like
Holmes or Poirot. These detectives rarely make mistakes and are depicted as having
exceptional interpretative powers, making even the most complex mysteries clear. They are
granted an authority by society and readers that elevates them above the norm and the law,
with the belief that no mystery is beyond their intellectual and reasoning abilities.

However, after World War I, the idea of a single, absolute authority is viewed with skepticism.
In the 1930s, with the Great Depression, economic and political upheavals, and the
emergence of fascist regimes, there was growing scepticism towards the unquestioned
authority of detectives like Holmes or Poirot. Intellectuals, especially those on the political left
such as Greene, began to doubt the reliability of these interpretations and the people who
promoted them. Ida Arnold, therefore, is very different from the confident, upper-class,
male detectives of classical detective stories whose reasoning is almost flawless. Her
belief in "ghosts, ouija boards, [and] tables which rapped" (36) makes her almost a
parody of the rational Holmesian detective. She is neither rational nor upper-class;
instead, the text highlights her femininity (something Pinkie fears) and her ties to
popular culture.

Greene portrays Ida Arnold as lacking love and spiritual awareness, emphasizing her
focus on practical matters like dealing with the world. Critics, mostly male, often criticize
Ida's character traits, contrasting them with their elevation of Pinkie to a tragic figure akin to
Macbeth or Milton's Satan, who challenges divine order with statements like "Credo in
unum Satanum." Pinkie's "dark theology" goes beyond mere right and wrong, delving
into concepts of Good and Evil. Rose, sharing Pinkie's worldview, is depicted as
morally superior in both the novel and critical discussions compared to characters
like Ida, Dallow, and others. The contrast between Ida's secular or possibly pagan outlook
and Rose and Pinkie's religious perspective is central to Brighton Rock. Greene clearly
favors the latter, suggesting that spiritual awareness gives life greater meaning. Critics
see Pinkie and Rose as morally superior based on T. S. Eliot's comments about saints
and evil in his essay "Baudelaire," echoed by Greene in his own writings.

Similar to characters like Poirot in Christie's novels, Ida is incredibly observant, noted
ironically as someone who "missed nothing." She shares their goal of uncovering the
truth, albeit through unconventional means like consulting occult texts such as the
ouija board instead of following clues provided within the narrative by an author like Dr.
Sheppard in Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

Greene himself may consider Ida a flat character lacking depth, but when viewed within
the framework of detective fiction and compared to characters in Greene's other crime
novels like Mather, Raven, Rowe, and Mason, Ida emerges as more than just spiritually
ignorant or deserving of ridicule. Her role as a detective serves to undermine her
authority in "Brighton Rock," highlighting her spiritual blindness as a thematic
element in the novel..
The text highlights the difficulty of understanding events by showing that Pinkie's
criminal actions are somewhat excused by his background of poverty ("Man is made
by the places in which he lives" [37]). Additionally, Colleoni, a major criminal leader, is
respected by the Brighton police and the Conservative party, which wants him to enter
politics (159). Although Ida manages to remove Pinkie as a threat, she doesn't address
the underlying conditions that created him; the source of the evil remains, as does
Pinkie's voice on record and in the reader's mind. So, while Ida is like a classical detective
as an enforcer of law and order, the novel questions the ideology of the classical
detective story because eliminating the criminal does not cleanse a society riddled
with deep-seated corruption.

Brighton Rock complicates the typical detective story structure, where the crime happens
outside the main narrative and details are revealed through an investigation. In the
classic model, as explained by Todorov, the story’s content (fabula) is revealed through
the narrative structure (sjuzhet), which arranges and presents events to the reader.
This method implies that while the fabula informs the sjuzhet, it also creates its own
presence in the story. However, figuring out which element comes first is a complex
and unclear task.

Fabula vs. Sjuzhet: The fabula is the actual sequence of events in the story, while
the sjuzhet is how these events are arranged and narrated in the text.

Revealing the Story: The sjuzhet reveals the fabula to the reader by structuring and
presenting the events in a particular order. This means that the narrative structure
(sjuzhet) is what guides the reader through the story, gradually uncovering the raw
events (fabula).

Interdependence: While the fabula provides the raw material for the sjuzhet, it also
gains its own presence in the story. This means that as the narrative unfolds, the
events (fabula) become clearer and more defined through the way they are
presented (sjuzhet).

Complex Relationship: Determining which element (fabula or sjuzhet) comes first is

complicated. This is because they are deeply interconnected. The fabula exists as a
series of events, but it only gains meaning and coherence through the sjuzhet.
Conversely, the sjuzhet is based on the fabula, but it also shapes how the fabula is
perceived.

In Brighton Rock, Ida begins her pursuit by focusing on the place where Hale
disappeared, following a standard investigative process to reconstruct the crime. This
approach aligns with the traditional plot of the classical detective story, where the
narrative (sjuzhet) shapes and unfolds around the material events of the story
(fabula). Her method involves retracing the steps of Pinkie and his gang, essentially
rewriting their actions through her investigation. This process parallels the act of writing
a narrative, where the investigation's clues serve as tangible signs that uncover
suppressed elements of the story. In the novel, the narratives of Ida and Pinkie,
representing investigation and crime respectively, are intertwined as each reveals
glimpses of the other's narrative through intermittent clues. How one interprets Brighton
Rock, whether focusing on the investigation or the crime, depends on their
perspective. As Todorov suggests, the concepts of fabula and sjuzhet are different ways of
looking at the same underlying narrative structure. Ida's relentless pursuit of Pinkie
heightens his efforts to evade capture. As she investigates, she interprets the events and
uncovers clues that hint at Pinkie's involvement in Hale's death. In traditional detective
fiction, these clues are formalized and structured to reveal hidden aspects of the case.
For instance, details like Hale's aversion to Bass beer, his statement about expecting
to die, and discrepancies such as using a false name, bruises on his arms, and
leaving a restaurant without eating despite claiming hunger, all contribute to Ida's
growing suspicion. These details not only confirm her instincts but also gradually
expose more about Pinkie's actions and motives.

As the novel progresses, Ida's investigation into Hale's death becomes the catalyst for
Pinkie's actions. While official investigators have closed the case, Ida persists in her
pursuit, becoming the sole threat to Pinkie. Just as readers interpret the narrative content of
the text, Ida's quest shapes, explains, and validates everything from Pinkie's pursuit of
Rose to his crimes against Spicer and his manipulation of Rose towards a suicide
pact. Although Pinkie worries about potential police inquiries regarding the card left at
Snow's, it's Ida who poses the real danger. In this dynamic, the investigation dictates the
course of the crime narrative, yet conversely, it's Pinkie's actions that drive the
detective storyline. These two narrative threads are intricately intertwined, each
originating and influencing the other: Moreover, the novel's narrative complexity is
compounded by the fact that the initial murder in Brighton Rock, Kite's killing, is itself
an act of revenge in response to another earlier action. This underlying narrative,
sporadically revealed in Pinkie's story, adds another layer of complexity to the novel's
structure. Ultimately, Brighton Rock serves as a model of narrative mechanics,
illustrating how multiple narrative strands can coexist within a single text,
intertwining and feeding off each other, while also highlighting the reader's role in
constructing meaning from these narratives.

Greene's approach in *Brighton Rock* changes the traditional structure of detective stories
by blending the story (fabula) and the way it's told (sjuzhet). Instead of keeping the crime
and its investigation separate, he mixes the narrative of the detective with the criminal's
story, showing details from both viewpoints. These two narrative threads unfold in
roughly alternating chapters, running parallel along a shared timeline but constantly
influencing each other. As the novel progresses, the boundaries between the
investigation and the crime narratives blur, with each narrative starting to incorporate
elements of the other. A clear example of this intertwining can be found in part 4, section 1
(pages 99-120), where Pinkie and Spicer are at the race track. While the foreground story
describes Pinkie's betrayal of Spicer to Colleoni's men, glimpses of Ida's narrative
thread emerge. Spicer mentions a woman who bet on a horse called Black Boy, which
Hale had tipped her about before his disappearance. Later, it's revealed that the woman
who wins a substantial amount of money on Black Boy is Ida herself, using the
winnings to fund her ongoing investigation.This storytelling method shows how Greene
combines elements of a detective story with a deeper look at characters and their
motivations, blurring the usual lines between hero and villain, and between detective and
criminal.

[In "Brighton Rock," Ida's investigation, shown by her use of an occult text, both reveals and
shapes the story she is part of. This reflects the broader relationship between readers and
texts. Texts and readers are separate, similar to the difference between the story itself
(fabula) and the way it's told (sjuzhet). However, when reading, the text guides the reader's
understanding, and the reader's interpretation gives meaning to the text. This mutual
relationship, like that between Ida and Pinkie, has no clear starting point. Both reading and
storytelling depend on each other; reading brings the story to life, and the story shapes the
act of reading. The narrative only exists when it is being read, by either the reader or the
author, based on their own experiences with other stories. It is impossible to say which
comes first—reading or storytelling—as both depend on and influence each other..

Using Barthes's concept of the "already-read", reading a text makes it real for the reader,
inscribing it into their consciousness. Simultaneously, the text that is read is interpreted
through the lens of the reader's previous experiences with texts they have encountered.This
phenomenon underlies the varied interpretations of Brighton Rock—whether seen as a
plausible or implausible plot, a proletarian novel or moral allegory, a detective story or
religious drama, light fiction or serious literature, entertainment or tragedy. The novel
emerges as a product of a unique act of interpretation. Brighton Rock demonstrates how
these diverse interpretations are generated and coexist within the textual landscape of the
novel.

In Brighton Rock, the act of reading is prominently featured from the outset, notably when
Hale, under the alias Kolley Kibber, follows a prescribed route through Brighton to find
someone who can recite a specific phrase from The Daily Messenger. This phrase, "You are
Mr. Kolley Kibber. I claim the Daily Messenger prize," is explicitly portrayed as a coded
message. The novel emphasizes that this claim must be made "in the proper form of words,"
implying the possibility of achieving a correct and singular interpretation of a text.However,
the introduction of an allusion to Colley Cibber complicates this notion. Colley Cibber was a
prominent figure in English literature and theater, known for his complex characterizations
and satirical writings. This allusion suggests that texts can harbor multiple layers of meaning
that subvert straightforward interpretations. Moreover, Hale's pursuit of this coded message
leads to his death, underscoring the idea that seeking a single, definitive meaning from a text
may be inadequate or even perilous in certain contexts.Thus, from its inception, Brighton
Rock challenges the idea of a text having a singular, easily decipherable meaning. It
suggests that texts, like the coded message Hale pursues, can be interpreted in various
ways, influenced by layers of cultural references, contexts, and the reader's own
perspectives.] (only for narrative structure)
In Brighton Rock, the novel further explores the theme of reading through Ida's role as
a detective who reads the fictions constructed by Pinkie to explain the deaths of Hale,
Spicer, and the anticipated death of Rose. As Pinkie creates these fictions, he uses
tangible signs intended to deceive the reader, much like a detective investigates clues
to uncover the truth. For instance, Pinkie strategically places cards along Hale's route,
presenting them as evidence of Hale's presence, akin to his "signature." This manipulation
of physical evidence mirrors how authors use textual clues to shape narratives that
may mislead readers or investigators alike. Moreover, in planning Rose's supposed
suicide, Pinkie manipulates a note written by Rose herself, urging her to "add a piece" to
clarify her death. This attempt to control the narrative through written texts underscores how
fiction within the novel parallels the act of reading and interpreting texts more
broadly.Thus, Brighton Rock not only portrays Ida as a detective who reads and
interprets these fictional constructs but also invites readers to reflect on their own
engagement with texts, highlighting how texts can be manipulated to convey
particular meanings and perspectives.

In Brighton Rock, Ida Arnold's role as a detective parallels the act of reading and interpreting
texts, emphasizing her methodical approach to uncovering the truth behind Hale's death.
Like a reader scrutinizing a text, Ida sifts through testimonies from various
witnesses—Molly, the bartender, police officers, Crab, Cubitt, Dallow, and notably,
Rose—seeking clues that reveal the suppressed narrative surrounding Hale's demise.

The narrative clearly connects Ida's investigative methods to interpreting texts early on.
Examples include her reading messages from the ouija board, correcting Tate's error about
"Black Dog" and "Black Boy," and analyzing the police report on Hale's death. These
moments show Ida's belief in her interpretive abilities, where she sees language as having
clear, definite meanings. However, despite her confidence, the novel criticizes Ida's
approach by pointing out its limitations and self-reflective nature. Unlike Sherlock Holmes,
whose deductions often assert singular interpretations with confidence, Ida's
conclusions in Brighton Rock are portrayed as flawed and uncertain. Her
interpretations of Hale's death oscillate between suicide, murder, and death from
fear-induced heart attack, revealing her inability to definitively grasp the truth.
Moreover, the novel suggests that even the symbolic phrase "Brighton Rock" remains
open to interpretation, both for Ida within the narrative and for readers engaging with
Greene's work. This ambiguity challenges Ida's belief in clear meanings and reflects
broader uncertainties in interpreting texts. Thus, through Ida's character, Brighton Rock
explores the complexity of reading and interpreting narratives, illustrating how
interpretations can be influenced by personal biases, limitations of understanding,
and the inherent ambiguity of language and symbolism.

In Brighton Rock, Ida Arnold's understanding of Pinkie and Rose is constrained by her
lack of a religious sensibility and her adherence to a middle-class worldview. She
views the world through the lens of her own experiences and assumptions, unable to
perceive beyond her familiar surroundings. This limitation makes her blind to the
darker aspects of Brighton—the poverty, crime, and premature deaths that
characterize the lives of many young people in the city. Ida's middle-class perspective is
evident in her interactions with Rose, where she imposes her own values and expectations
onto the young girl. When Rose expresses her love for Pinkie despite his flaws, Ida
dismisses it as morbid romanticism, suggesting that Rose will outgrow her feelings with more
life experience. Ida's reference to what Rose's parents would think reflects her conventional
view of family dynamics, assuming that parental influence can easily guide Rose's
behavior.However, the novel reveals Ida's ignorance of the realities faced by families
like Rose's in Nelson Place and Pinkie's in Paradise Piece, neighborhoods marked by
poverty and its associated hardships. Despite her confident assertions, Ida fails to
grasp how economic circumstances shape people's lives and choices. This is
highlighted when Ida reflects on Rose's situation without fully understanding the complexities
of Rose's upbringing and environment.Ultimately, Ida's certainty in her judgments is
portrayed ironically in the narrative.

Ida Arnold's interpretation of written texts in Brighton Rock further undermines our
trust in her interpretive abilities. When she deciphers the ouija board's message
"FRESUICILLEYE," she confidently asserts her reading: "Fre is short for Fred and Suici
for Suicide and Eye; that's what I always say—an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.... See that Eye. That as good as tells me what to do" (44). Here, Ida's interpretation
is steeped in her own ideological framework based on Old Testament notions of
justice. She reads the text through the lens of her beliefs, shaping it to fit her preconceived
ideas. However, her interpretation proves dubious as the narrative progresses. The
connection she draws between "Fre" (supposedly Fred), "Suici" (suicide), and "Eye"
(interpreted as an eye for an eye) becomes questionable in light of subsequent
revelations about Hale's death. The name "Fre" doesn't match Hale's real name, and
the term "suici" as suicide doesn't align with the actual circumstances surrounding
Hale's demise. Additionally, the presence of two "l's" in the message remains
unexplained, indicating gaps in Ida's reading.Towards the end of the novel, when Ida
revisits the ouija board's message, she still fails to fully comprehend its meaning. She
interprets "Sui" as representing Pinkie's scream and agony, but the two "l's" remain
unresolved. Despite her persistence in interpreting the text, Ida never unravels the
true method or reasons behind Hale's death. As readers, we understand that Hale's
involvement in Kite's murder is crucial, but Ida's inability to grasp this reflects her
limitations as a detective and undermines her claim to authoritative justice. In
essence, Ida Arnold's interpretations of written texts in Brighton Rock are colored by
her personal biases and fail to inspire confidence in her investigative prowess. Her
readings are incomplete and often misaligned with the actual events of the narrative,
highlighting the novel's critique of simplistic interpretations and the complexities
involved in understanding truth and justice.

[Brighton Rock shows that a single interpretation is limited and highlights the importance of
reading and interpretation in understanding the story. G. K. Chesterton's idea that every
detail in a city is a clue for the detective searching for truth is similar to how every detail in
Brighton Rock holds potential meaning for the reader. In the novel, reading includes not just
textual documents but the whole world around the characters. Brighton is depicted as a
world made of texts: Rose's father's face shows "hieroglyphics of pain and patience and
suspicion" (142); the sea's edge looks like "big sprawling letters" in whitewash (152); and Ida
Arnold is compared to an enigmatic text that needs to be deciphered, standing like "a wall at
the end of an alley scrawled with the obscene chalk messages of an enemy" (196). This
theme of reading emphasizes that interpreting the world is a natural human activity driven by
the desire to understand. Those who claim authority to interpret—like the police, Ida, and
even Pinkie—wield power through their explanations. For example, the police's report on
Hale's death offers a single interpretation that reinforces their authority, suggesting efficiency
and legitimizing their power in society. Thus, Brighton Rock shows reading as an active
engagement with the narrative and the world, highlighting how interpretations shape
perceptions of truth and authority, challenging simplistic clarity and inviting readers to
navigate ambiguities to form their own understandings.] (only for narrative structure)
[The source of Ida's power over characters like Rose and Pinkie, who lack her certainty in
interpretation, lies in her unwavering belief in her own moral correctness. This certainty
makes her intimidating to them; Rose confesses, "'She scares me. I don't know what she
wants'" (112). Pinkie's gang struggles to understand Ida's motives and identity, unable to
categorize her as they would the police. Rose implores, "'Who are you? Why do you
interfere with us? You're not the police'" (196), reflecting their confusion and inability to read
her intentions.Ida's influence manifests in several ways: she easily gains the trust of men,
maneuvers Pinkie into drastic actions like killing Spicer and attempting to kill Rose,
persuades Dallow to assist in rescuing Rose, and ultimately returns Rose to her parents. Her
power is not only in her ability to gain confidence but also in her pivotal role in shaping the
events of the narrative.In essence, Ida's authority stems from her ability to decode the
behaviors and motivations of others, a skill rooted in her strong sense of moral
clarity. This portrayal underscores how interpretations of events can wield significant
influence over characters and their actions in the narrative landscape of Brighton
Rock.Pinkie's power over Rose in Brighton Rock stems from his confident ability to interpret
and manipulate situations to his advantage. Unlike Rose, who often struggles to understand
the various messages and situations she encounters, Pinkie perceives himself as
knowledgeable and accurate in his readings of people and circumstances. Rose's
uncertainty in interpreting the world around her is illustrated when she finds a cryptic
message advising her to lock her door, which she fails to decipher, feeling it might as well be
in code (190). In contrast, Pinkie demonstrates skill in manipulating texts and language to
achieve his goals. He can deceive Rose into believing he loves her and convince her that
suicide is the only solution to their problems: "He watched her closely while he did his sleight
of hand, passing off his idea as hers. 'I got the car all ready. We could go out into the country
where no one would hear ...' He measured her terror carefully and before she could pass the
card back to him, he changed his tone. 'That's only if the worst comes to the worst.'" (213)
Pinkie understands the power of language and narrative. He realizes that by controlling how
stories are told and interpreted, he can influence others, including Ida and the police. This
manipulation mirrors Ida's own belief that texts can direct their readers to a single, intended
interpretation.In summary, Pinkie's authority over Rose is rooted in his ability to manipulate
and control narratives to suit his desires, exploiting Rose's uncertainty and leveraging his
own perceived mastery of textual interpretation. This dynamic underscores the themes of
power and manipulation through narrative in Brighton Rock.

In Brighton Rock, both Pinkie and Ida believe they possess the power to control narratives
through their interpretations, aiming to enforce a singular reading of events. However, the
novel reveals that this perceived power is ultimately illusory. Despite Pinkie's efforts to
construct what Roland Barthes would classify as "readerly" texts—texts that aim to dictate a
singular interpretation—small details continuously undermine his fictions. For instance,
details such as Spicer leaving one of Kolley Kibber's cards at Snow's, being photographed,
Rose realizing Spicer wasn't Kolley Kibber, and numerous other factors continuously expose
flaws in Pinkie's narratives. Each time one of his fictions is challenged or revealed as
incomplete, Pinkie is compelled to create new stories to explain and cover up these
weaknesses. His attempts to conceal the truth about Hale's death lead him to murder Spicer,
necessitating further efforts to hide this crime, which in turn result in the fabricated story of
Rose's suicide.This cycle of constructing and revising fictions reflects Pinkie's desperate
attempt to control how others interpret the initial crime. Each murder and subsequent
narrative is crafted in the hope of establishing the definitive, "true" account of events.
However, the novel illustrates that achieving this definitive status is futile and unattainable,
as each fiction inevitably unravels under scrutiny.In essence, Brighton Rock demonstrates
the limitations of imposing a single interpretation on complex events. Both Pinkie and Ida,
despite their confidence in their interpretive abilities, fail to grasp the full complexity of the
situations they navigate, leading to a continual cycle of deception and re-construction of
narratives.

Brighton Rock expresses a profound skepticism toward any individual or institution claiming
to possess the authority to define and enforce a singular meaning or truth. This skepticism is
underscored by the novel's critique of both Pinkie and Ida's attempts to construct
authoritative narratives, only to have these narratives unravel due to overlooked details and
complexities in the events they interpret.The novel's skepticism extends broadly, challenging
not just personal interpretations but also institutional authorities, including political and
religious ones. For instance, the priest's final remarks to Rose about the incomprehensible
mercy of God highlight a questioning of traditional religious authority and doctrines. This
critique suggests that such authorities, like Pinkie and Ida, may be operating under a
delusion of their ability to definitively determine truth.By exposing the limitations of
authoritative readings and interpretations, Brighton Rock advocates for a method of reading
that is skeptical of claims to absolute truth. This approach not only guards against political
and intellectual domination but also aligns with what critics like Nehring identify as Greene's
"anarchist" politics—a stance that questions and challenges established authority in favor of
a more critical and nuanced understanding of truth and power dynamics.](only for
narrative structure)
CONCLUSION

Brighton Rock subverts the traditional detective novel by highlighting the limitations of
Ida Arnold's investigative abilities and interpretations. Unlike classic detectives, Ida's
conclusions are flawed and uncertain, influenced by her middle-class biases and lack
of deeper understanding. The narrative mocks her confidence in clear meanings and
definitive justice, showing her misinterpretations and inability to grasp the true
circumstances of Hale's death. By intertwining the detective and criminal narratives
and critiquing simplistic interpretations, Brighton Rock challenges the conventional
detective story structure, ultimately portraying the complexities of truth and the
ambiguities of human motivations.