redemption

Bri Fowle

So we have talked about this common theme of redemption in the books and movies that we have read/watched. In some of them there is a clear sense of redemption, and in some of the others, they are not nearly so clear. In works such as The Big Sleep and Brick, the ending is clear and you know exactly what happened and why it happened. In works like City of Glass, the ending seems to be disappointing and confusing because none of your questions were answered. Most people would argue that it was not redemptive at all. But what if we look at the big picture of the book, outside of the characters? What if the book itself is redemptive somehow because he made art out of a book that went nowhere and seemingly had no point? Or maybe City of Glass had a higher literary meaning that we shouldn’t concentrate on the characters themselves but on the story. It’s hard to see the redemptive qualities in that book, but I feel that if we look close enough we can come up with something.
Gun, With Occasional Music was a lot more satisfying than City of Glass, to be sure, but it definitely has deeper meanings. Every small detail in that book was put there for a reason.
Another common theme that I see throughout the books is that at the end, the detective has somehow ruined himself or his reputation somehow and just doesn’t seem to care anymore. He finds what he was looking for (or in Quinn’s case, goes as far as he possibly can and does everything that he can, eventually going crazy in the end), and then he is finally satisfied. You see this especially with Quinn, where he doesn’t care what happens to himself at the end, eventually wasting away and disappearing. Also, Metcalf at the end solves the mystery, takes care of Joey and then is finally satisfied, feeling like he is finally finished everything he needs to. He doesn’t even care about the world he lives in now and doesn’t feel a part of it anymore so he doesn’t even hesitate to turn himself in. It doesn’t make sense to run from the Office because he doesn’t even like the world anymore.