Ordinary or Extraordinary Murders
Ordinary or extraordinary? That appears to be the question. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” an eye catching article has been printed in the Gazette des Tribunaux: “Extraordinary Murders.” Obviously the press seems to think they are extraordinary, however the Parisian police seem to be treating the unique case as just another murder, with their obvious lack of observation and generic assumptions. Critical thinker August Dupin seems to think differently, and agrees with the press. These truly are extraordinary murders; and he believes they are a type that has never occurred before.
August Dupin’s and the narrator’s reading of the newspaper article takes place somewhat towards the beginning of the story, shortly after the narrator’s findings of August Dupin’s superb observation and deduction skills. The narrator also discovers Dupin’s ability to work backwards, as well as notice even the smallest almost insignificant details.
The article describes the strange deaths of Paris residents Madame L’ Espanaye and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille L’ Espanaye. That morning around three o’clock, several residents of the Quartier St. Roch were awakened by shrieks coming from the fourth of a house in the Rue Morgue. Minutes later, the door was broken in with a crow bar, by two police officers and several citizens. As they hurried up the stairs, two voices were heard, seemingly angry, coming from the top part of the house. Upon arriving in the back room of the fourth floor, they had to force the door open, seeing as it was locked. A horrendous scene presented itself. The furniture was damaged and thrown all around the room; the mattress had been removed from the bed frame and thrown across the floor. A razor appeared on a chair, covered in blood, as well as bloody hair on the hearth. Many expensive things such as jewelry, silverware, and two huge bags filled with money were strewn across the floor, and...