his short response paper begins the practice of analysis and argument. Your primary task is to write about how either “Arson Plus,” Double Indemnity, or a particular section of The Long Goodbye conforms/adheres to or disregards/violates a convention of the noir genre and to what effect and/or purpose. How does it relate to other noir stories? What is the author trying to do by using or abusing this particular genre?

The more focused and specific you can be in this paper, the better. I’d recommend choosing one genre convention to discuss and, if you choose the movie or the novel, looking at no more than three scenes/passages from it.

You can reference any of the other works, another movie or story from the classic noir period, or another detective story in order to demonstrate your understanding of a particular genre convention. That said, the bulk of your essay should be focused on analyzing passages from your chosen text.

The final essay must be 3 to 4 pages long and be presented in MLA format, including a properly formatted Works Cited. (Search the internet for “MLA Formatting Guidelines” if you need help with that.)
You will need two sources for this essay. The other can either be one of the critical essays we have read in class, the novel, the movie, or another story or movie that demonstrates genre elements relevant to your discussion.

The required movie:
Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder (available on Netflix and Amazon Instant, and probably other places, too)