Morris Markey's literary journalism piece, "Drift," belongs to a genre referred to as "the procedural." To your mind, what characteristics of the piece make it an example of the genre?
Or, if you prefer, you may respond to this question: "Drift" contains elements of noir. Identify and briefly explain one.
Remember, we're practicing good writing here, not just literary analysis. Your comments should be crisp and clear. Avoid generalizations, tortured syntax, and muddy language.
22 comments:
An example of noir in Drift is the description of how the rest of the dead came to be where number 48,227 was. Markey writes that "Some had crept with solitary misery" while others "died in the dreadful squalor of the tenements" and some were "dead-born infants". He describes the dead people’s journey to the Morgue in a particularly gruesome way that elicits a sad response but he never shows the dead any sympathy. What he is writing is gritty, descriptive and realistic without emotion.
What makes this story an example of noir is the treatment of the dead, especially 48,227. His body is treated unsentimentally the entire time by the staff. For example, they have his body lined up with over a hundred other bodies in a room waiting to be buried, then when they finally are buried 48,227 is not even left with a marker for his grave. The business-like manner is not reserved for those who can't be identified, however, which is shown by the fact that the non-Catholics receive no ceremony because "it is not the city's obligation."
So what specific characteristic(s) of noir does DRIFT demonstrate? The femme fatale? The idea that no good act goes unpunished? The oppressiveness of the "square" or conventional lifestyle? The general hopelessness of the human condition? And how does DRIFT demonstrate it? Things to consider closely.
Markey's "Drift" stands as a piece of literary journalism that falls under "the procedural" genre. The blunt manor of setting the stage almost as a ‘to do list’ is its most defining trait; beginning with the Morgue and the release of 48,227 to burial Potter’s Field. Each scene is just running through the process, just as the gravediggers buried the City’s dead routinely on Wednesday and Saturday. This perspective of reading the piece finds it lacking emotion.
“Drift,” however like two sides of a coin, also gives another perspective. Like the black cloud over humanity, “Drift” has elements of noir that demonstrate the hopelessness of the human condition. The description and factual numbers given of Potter’s Field not only expresses the numbing power of routine has over humans, but also the hopelessness in our state. No matter how depressing it is we will all end up in a box six feet under; whether it is a marked grave or not is up to us.
P.S. Sorry Professor Good, I know my entry is over the limit
I believe that portraying this occurrence in the procedural genre is in itself an element of noir. We follow the routine of an unidentified man, among many others, in the burial process. It is all described in a cold, detached manner that numbs the reader of any emotional attatchment to the dead. The fact that number 48,227's identity is irretrievable gives a sense that despite the profoundness and significance of a life, it can all be lost and forgotten in death. Humanity spends their existance struggling with the concept of death, and in this story, it is portrayed as merely a necessary but essentially unimportant thing to deal with.
DRIFT has stimulated some thoughtful and eloquent reading so far -- keep up the great job.
An element of noir that hasn't been mentioned thus far is the woman who frequents the morgue trying to determine if the deceased person is "Willie." She has traveled far and desperately searches his body for clues to help herself identify him. Yet, all she becomes to the workers of the morgue is "someone who must have had a nice trip east." Her character appears to be helpless, worried and saddened. It seems as though her story is hidden beneath the other elements of noir, such the namelessness of the body, the gravesite, and so on. However, the element of noir that she brings is the one which opens the piece. By the end of the piece we seem to forget that her plight in itself is dark and lonely, and aids in developing the emotive tone that Markey has constructed in "Drift."
"Drift" is a paramount example of the procedural genre in that it gives the step-by-step description of the interment of an unidentified man. Everything from the description of the man as "number 48,227" to the mention of the clerk doing what it takes so that the City Treasury can take over the money the man left suggests a meticulous, detail-by-detail style. In terms of elements of noir there is no femme fatale of the more pulp incarnations but there is a sort of gritty realism present in the story. It is seen in the apathy toward death and burial in the Potter's Field, the nonchalant designation of the religion of the unidentified man, and especially the whole going-through-the-motions attitude of the Superintendent.
Also, the highlight on how many "pieces" the veterans band comes with makes death seem like a pretext for more trivial pursuits.
"Drift" is considered part of the Procedural genre because it follows an investigation from beginning to end. We learn a bit about why Number 48,227 is in the morgue and unknown to begin with and ends with the body being buried and the city taking ownership of his collections - the ultimate sign of his death and unknown identity. I think this bleak ending is an example of noir. While there was hope that this man could have had an identity, that was over now. The city took control of his possessions - thirty four dollars and seventy cents - and he literally becomes nothing. His case has been closed, the city does not recognize him anymore, and any family he may have has no idea what has become of him. Another element of noir that I immediately noticed was the title of the story and the imagery it evokes. Upon finishing "Drift", I thought of dead bodies drifting in the water. This thought seems random, but it is what the story immediately brought to mind, which I feel is due to its elements of noir. When I read the story again, that is similar to what happens. The bodies are aboard "Riverside" and taking a "long and very slow" trip up the East River. The bodies are essentially drifting in the river. They even drift pass Hell Gate, which, if it isnt an element of noir, is at least a bit ironic.
The characteristics that make “Drift” an example of the genre “the procedural” are quite easily apparent. Being taken through the “life” of a corpse in the situation that 48,227 was in demonstrates this. The story isn’t so much about his life (in death), however. The story is much more about the interactions, thoughts, and emotions (or lack thereof) with regard to 48,227. Although elements of noir are demonstrated in the living characters, who’s sensitivity to death of people they don’t know has been utterly removed, I find the most downtrodden words in the story to be the ones that reflect a suicide committed with the intention of no one knowing. This says to me that the person was in such a mental state that they certainly wanted to end their own life, but knew there were people who would be hurt by the knowledge of it. Not only are we introduced to a character that accomplishes this end, but (as hinted to by the woman trying to find Willie) we are indirectly introduced to potentially an entire family who are grieving, and wondering what has happened to a loved one.
"Drift" by Morris Markey contains many elements of noir; the whole setup alone is very dark, apathetic and shows human emotion as insignificant. The dead man is named 48,227 and I personally believe that alone is horrid. A person even after death deserves a name even if his identity is unknown. The idea of the system just assigning you a number, instead of for example John Doe, already makes the situation less human and lacking any human qualities.
The literary piece "Drift" belongs to the genre "the procedural" becuase it contains an orderly system of details. This piece starts off in the middle, making the reader aware that yet another unidentified dead body was ready to be buried. It then went into detail exploring where this unknown lifeless body was found and the cause of its death. This body referred to as a number(48,227) was just a routine for the employees. It didn't matter to them what happened with Number 48,227, they just waited for the OK for the burial. This body was just another body to dump besides many of the other unidentified dead. Before he was known as Number 48,227, now he is the "unidentified dead who carry no name into eternity".
One aspect of noir that this piece demonstrates is the conventional lifestyle--the routine of life and how society is made up of workers that are so caught up in a routine that they are blind to even the heaviest of things that should never go overlooked.
To me, this piece works to highlight the customary, the familiarity and general bleakness and depression that arises when fellow humans are caught in a type of work cycle as described. Dealing with death becomes routine just as it has become routine for us to see so much death/sadness /happenings in the news every evening. We have grown accustomed to this as a society, and it is a scary thing if you give it thought. These days, unfortunately, people are driven by sensation, and a random death is only a big deal if he/she died from the rarest of illnesses, or if he/she was the lunch of some prehistoric lizard that has somehow come back to life. Poor example, but you get the idea.
Morris Markey's "Drift" is an example of noir as it follows the burial of an unidentified suicide victim without any sentimentality. The characters present go about the mass burial of paupers, unaffected by the grievous display of the dead. Naturally, I was reminded of the jester Yorik being buried by the desensitized gravedigger. Markey put the reader in the position of Hamlet, questioning the human response to death. Once again, as in the other articles we've read,the poor is completely disregarded by the more fortunate population.
Drift is a story that clearly seems like it would fit the genre of "the procedural". The main reason for this would seem to be the writing style of the piece. It's written very simply. The narrative is a simple recitation of facts with very little literary embellishment. It tells the details that you as the reader need to know to understand what is going on and then tells little else. It is also purely discriptive, telling what people are doing but not going into any ideas about what their emotional states might be or what motivates the characters.
Drift” speaks loudly as a noir piece right from the first sentence: "Detective Sergeant O'Keefe was on the assignment at the Morgue..." Whenever I think of those classic film noirs, the first scene that comes to my mind is the tall, dark detective, sitting at his desk with a pipe in his mouth and a fedora on his head as he contemplates a juicy case. But we're talking about literature here, and to reiterate what Prof. Good suggested, the most dramatic element of noir in "Drift" is "the general hopelessness of the human condition." The issue Markey focuses on is the treatment of the pauper dead--those so sad and hopeless that they can only find companionship once they have died and are buried with hundreds of other faceless names. Markey also comes back to Number 48,227's suicide at the end. What's more sad and hopeless than someone who is considerate enough to leave a week's rent for his landlord before he kills himself but despondent enough not to leave a name? The subject Markey was dealing with was definitely dark enough, but using elements of noir gave it a dramatic, chilling appeal.
Markey's piece does fall under the "procedural" genre. This is evidenced by the fact that the story is broken up into segments, or chapters, each of which tells of a different part of a procedure performed by the police.
The story is told in very straightforward and lucid manner, but the writer embellishes upon its events by adding descriptive language that darkens its atmosphere.
Drift is a highly procedural story that starts with a dead man and shows where he ends up. All the steps along the way are shown through Markey’s description. It is more than just linking events with a beginning and an ending though, because this was a rather in-depth and personal look into the procedure. After reading this piece one will know exactly what this man went through to reach his place in the ground with the rest of the dead Catholics. Never missing any key steps or moments across the path is what makes this a great procedural story.
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