Comparing Style in A Lonely Place and The Gutting of Couffignal

Posted: January 5th, 2023

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Comparing Style in A Lonely Place and The Gutting of Couffignal

Dorothy Hughes’ In a Lonely Place and Dashiell Hammett’s The Gutting of Couffignal are two accounts that give insightful stories about different characters. Hughes tells the story of Dix Steel who has just quit the Air Force and has to borrow from others to live Los Angeles. Dix tries to get over the effects of war, and it appears that the disturbing experiences he encountered affected his mental stability. News spreads quickly that a serial killer is on the loose because people continue to find bodies of dead women all over town. It emerges that Dix is behind the killing. He at one time plans to kill Laurel Gray but the latter together with another female cast (Brub’s wife) become weary of his intention and make plans for his execution before he implements his heinous acts. Hammett, on the other hand, tells a story about the robbing of a bank, jewelry stores, and presents handed over at a wedding on the Island of Couffignal. The story starts with a description of the island and a vivid description of the main street that has various hotels, banks, restaurants, and other business premises. It tells the story of the Henderxson family that is hosting a wedding but the guards put in place to watch over the presents are not smart enough than intruders who get access into the premises. The report seeks to examine the similarities and differences in the styles both authors embrace to present their works. Using suspense and exaggeration helps to engage readers who can only speculate what would happen and make the story more appealing, respectively, and using a different point of view and diction allows the authors to use a narration style that suits their narration.

Suspense

Both storytellers use suspense to engage readers throughout the novel. Kisak defines suspense as the uneasy feelings readers get when they do not know what may happen next (93). Hughes is masterful in the way she develops suspense through a regulated release of information to the audience that generates key concerns and questions and intrigues readers’ anxiety. The suspense in A Lonely Place escalates as readers follow Dixon through his walks late in the night and when he strolls absentmindedly in the streets of California. Most of the things happen in his mind and readers can hardly speculate his plans or how his lonely lifestyle would end. Suspense also builds when news spread that Dixon is behind the killing of several young women in the town because readers cannot speculate whether he will be arrested considering his tactful execution plans and hiding techniques. However, even as readers hope that Dix would get help to get over his mental problems, things get out of hand as security officers take away his life. Hammett uses the same style of suspense to narrate the story by creating a livelily image of the Henderxson family, especially by describing how they have much anticipation for the wedding. However, readers note a change in tone as soon as it is evident that intruders have attacked the homestead and suspense prevails as to what would happen next. Both authors seem to acknowledge that using suspense create both anticipation and expectation, and also leaves readers speculating what would happen, which is important in attaching them to the storyline. Furthermore, using suspense in both cases magnifies the feel of essential scenes. The use of suspense by both scholars depicts the technique as a fundamental writing style that authors should explore.

Point of View

Narrating a story using the first person and third person point of view are a common technique among authors because of the many merits that come with its use. Hughes present her story using the third person point of view, judging from her use of pronouns and other references, but Hammett uses the first person point of view. Hammett constantly uses “I” in the story, which indicates that he uses the first person point of view to narrate the story. The author writes that “It was some time after midnight. I was sitting in the second story room in the largest house in Couffignal” (450). Hammett further writes that “I had come up to Couffignal – a two hour ride from San Francisco by ferry and auto stage” (451), which further reiterates that the author uses the first person point of view to narrate the story. One merit of using first person narration is that readers get a true perception of the characters. Hughes’ story, on the other hand, uses third person point of view where she constantly uses pronouns to refer to the characters. Hughes writes about Dix that “To his mind nothing was comparable to matching” (1). The pronoun “his” indicates that the author narrates the story in the third person. Hughes also expresses the tough life Dix seems to be going through by writing “Where is the beautiful life he was promised” (1). The use of “he” in this instance depicts a narration using the third person point of view. Hughes settles on third person because the point of view allow her to give out information in creative forms and because the technique offers insight into multiple characters (Kisak 116). More fundamentally, the technique offers the chance to move around in time thereby making it easy to shift between past, present, and future tenses (Kisak 116). Thus, authors should identify the point of view that suit their story before proceeding with writing. 

Exaggeration

Exaggeration is a common writing style that both authors use to attract their readers’ attention. Kisak (124) describes exaggeration in literature as the use of statements that make something better or worse than it really appears. Authors often use exaggeration to give additional drama or stress in their work. Hammett uses exaggeration where he writes that “The constructions appear to belong beside one another, as if they had been planned by the same designer” (450). The expression is an evident use of exaggeration because all buildings in a town cannot be designed by the same person, especially when they were developed at different times. Hughes, on the other hand, uses exaggeration where she narrates how Dix manages to stay out of police watch yet he roams the streets every evening and night.

Diction

Both authors choose a diction that they think suit their stories to give a true reflection of what they write about. Hughes, for example, makes numerous references about military life because the protagonist and his colleagues had served in the army. The diction Hughes uses helps readers to understand how military life expose some people to mental problems that could lead them to act contrary to people’s expectations. Hammett, on the other hand, uses diction that relates to partying and robbery to give a clear view of the robbing scenes and the wedding at Henderxson’s. The way both authors differ in their choice of words and ways of expressing them really matters when narrating a story because it creates an image of what the story indents to express.

Conclusion

The paper scrutinizes the styles Hughes and Hammett use to present their stories. Hughes presents her story using the third person point of view, which allows for omniscience, jumping across time, and gives much insight into the nature of the characters, but Hammett uses first person narration, thus offering the chance to understand characters’ feelings much better. Both scholars also use suspense and exaggeration in their works to give an appealing and engaging feeling to their work. However, the authors seem to differ in their use of diction.

Works Cited

Hammett, Dashiell. “The Gutting of Couffignal.” Crime Stories & Other Writings. Library of America, 2001.

Hughes, Dorothy. In a Lonely Place. NYRB Classics, 2017.

Kisak, Paul. Literacy Devices: “Al Writers should know!” CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.