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The Murders in the Rue Morgue

by Edgar Allan Poe

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1. This story is considered the first detective story and the foundation for all future detective tales. Identify some of the conventions, techniques, and devices introduced here that later detective stories adopted.

2. Poe asserts that all compelling stories resemble detective stories, where the reader acts as a detective, piecing together clues to solve the mystery. Compare the role of a reader in a story to that of a detective, as defined by Poe.

3. In another Poe detective story, "The Purloined Letter," Dupin mentions that both a successful criminal and a good detective should possess the mental qualities of both a poet and a mathematician. How does Dupin demonstrate these qualities in "Murders in the Rue Morgue"?

4. Analyze the way the story is narrated, particularly its minimal action and the reliance on newspaper reports and Dupin's monologue explaining how he solved the crime.

5. Read Poe's two other Dupin stories, "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and "The Purloined Letter." Write an essay on Dupin's character as developed across all three stories, focusing on the quality and nature of his intellect.

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