RE: RARA-AVIS: Chemical Dependence and Hard-Boiledness (was: Another Blockhead ... )

David A. Harvey (david@reportersink.com)
Sat, 15 Aug 1998 12:06:13 -0400 It's interesting that it is always booze, never any drugs. I've always read
this both as coming from the great Western tradition of the
warrior-conqueror who celebrates his conquest with mighty bouts of ale. The
prodigious drinking serving as part of the "larger than life" metaphor that
build ups these characters. I also think it's the hard-boiled flipping of
the bird to fate: I'll eat bullets, suck down gin and smoke everything in
sight, and you'll never kill me....

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David A. Harvey

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-rara-avis@icomm.ca [mailto:owner-rara-avis@icomm.ca]On
> Behalf Of Words from the Monastery
> Sent: Saturday, August 15, 1998 10:53 AM
> To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Chemical Dependence and Hard-Boiledness (was:
> Another Blockhead ... )
>
>
> At 10:46 AM 8/15/98 , William Denton wrote:
>
> > Are there any other books with alcoholic detectives? I'd
> have a tough
> > time thinking of any that don't drink, and hardboiled types are
> > notorious for drinking pretty heavily. They seem to be
> able to put it
> > back and never get drunk or go through all the blackouts
> and vomiting
> > that Scudder experiences.
>
> Do hard-boiled types have to drink or have some other
> chemical dependance
> to be hard-boiled? Is a reformed heavy drinker enough ... or does the
> booze and/or drugs make or break the hard-boiledness of the character?
>
>
> ----
> volente Deo,
>
> Anthony
> jackechs@erols.com or ICQ #3717510
> <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/4640>http://www.geocities.com/S
oHo/4640/

"You know how some people say they if they
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couldn't write, I'd go back to selling shoes. I have
three kids to support."

George P. Pelecanos, 1998
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