Graham Greene The Case For The Defence 5r2i4v

Graham Greene is best known for his novels, which can be largely split into two genres - entertaining thrillers and more literary works that, according to this site, "explore the ambiguities of modern man and ambivalent moral or political issues in a contemporary setting." After graduating from Oxford University, he worked as a journalist, before publishing his first book, "The Man Within," in 1929. After its success, he hoped to turn to novel-writing full-time, but had to supplement his income with freelance journalism. He also wrote plays and short stories. Although his literary works, such as The Power and the Glory, are arguably the books for which he is most ed, his thrillers are still entertaining reading. This short story, called "The Case for the Defence," published in 1939, may be short and sweet, but is a good example of his work. The narrator describes the case of the title as one that it most definitely cut-and-dried. The murderer of an elderly woman has been caught and stands in the dock: "...this murderer was all but found with the body: no one present when the Crown counsel outlined his case believed that the man in the dock stood any chance at all." There was a witness to the murder; a Mrs Salmon, who had seen his face illuminated in the street light. Mrs Salmon was regarded to be an exceptionally reliable witness. She was a decent, law-abiding citizen with excellent eyesight and no reason to make up what she had seen. And indeed she had seen the man standing in the dock bending over the body of the dead woman. The only problem is that he has an identical twin brother, who is standing at the back of the court room, and Mrs Salmon has no idea which of the brothers is the guilty party. As a result, both brothers get to go free. Yet the story does not end there. As the men leave the court, one of them falls into the road and is killed. But was it the brother who was innocent? This is a very short story, originally published in a magazine; it therefore has to pack a punch in a very efficient way. Graham Greene manages to do that very successfully by using third person narration and a narrator who is just a casual observer and clearly knows very little about the case. This enables him to give a brief overview of the scene, leaving a great deal to the reader's imagination. This brevity makes the highlight of the story, the revelation that there is an identical twin brother, stand out all the more. Even the death at the end is described with great economy of words: "He gave a squeal like a rabbit and that was all; he was dead, his skull smashed just as Mrs Parker's had been." It may be a little too blunt for some people's comfort, but that is the author's intention - he wants to shock, to make the reader that life is fragile and death can come to anyone at any time. It is interesting that Greene chose his key characters to be twins. He may have been trying to point out that looks can be deceptive and witnesses can be unreliable, for reasons that are beyond their understanding, which could be a criticism of the legal system. It is not that there is any sympathy for the brothers. One of them is obviously guilty; that is very apparent right from the start of the story. Not only were there witnesses to the murder, but the guilty party looks evil: "He was a heavy stout man with bulging bloodshot eyes. All his muscles seemed to be in his thighs." Greene was a

Catholic, although his faith seemed to have dwindled by the end of his life, and could be commenting on the fact that man really shouldn't be deciding the fate of his fellow man; that is for God alone to decide - hence the comment about it possibly being divine vengeance at the end. Knowing that the death penalty was still in force at the time of writing strengthens this argument. It initially seems that the revelation about the twin is the only twist in the tale. However, there is another one; one that is even more chilling. After the death of his brother, the surviving twin looks across at Mrs Salmon. The narrator obviously doesn't know what he is thinking - he is clearly devastated at the death of his twin - but the suggestion is that he will make someone pay for his loss and Mrs Salmon, having just tried to put the nail in one twin's coffin, could end up being in the line of fire. However, if he does track her down, will it be the murderer committing a second murder? Or will it be an innocent man seeking revenge for the death of his guilty brother? It's another reminder that life can often throw curveballs and that unfortunately there is often no rhyme or reason for it. It's a depressing assessment of life, but although Greene may be trying to shock with an exaggerated example, there is no doubt that it is also a realistic assessment and readers can only hope that nothing similar will happen to them.

The Case for the Defence The Case for the Defence is a short story written by Graham Greene. The story takes place in England around the time it was written, in the late 1930’s, when a conviction for murder carried a death penalty. We find ourselves in Central Criminal Court in London where the trial of the “Peckham murder” is being held. In this story we meet Mrs. Salmon who testifies against the defendant Mr. Adams. But it turns out he has a twin brother and the witnesses can not be sure of which one of them they saw. Mr. Adams is therefore aquitted, although one of them commited the murder. Outside of the courtroom one of the two brothers is pushed by the crowd and hit by a bus. If it was the murderer or not we do not know. But what we do know, is that their might be a killer that Mrs. Salmon witnessed against on free foot. The narrator of the story is most likely the prosecutor as he is in the courtroom, and talking to Mrs. Salmon , following her out after the trial and speaking of her as the ideal witness. The narrator does not participate in the plot, but he or she is observing and refering from the events of the story in third person. By having a third person narrator the author achieves an open story where you need to read between the lines, whereas an omniscient narrator to take an example, would know everything about the characters and in a way kill some of the tension in the story. Even though Mrs. Salmon is not really significant to the theme, she is important to the plot of the story and is the protagonist. Mrs. Salmon is a round character and is described like this by the narrator: “She was the ideal witness, with her slight Scotch accent and her expression of honesty, care and kindness. (...) There was no malice in her.” The reason I think the author chose to describe Mrs. Salmon like that, is to point out that she would tell the truth, that she would be a character with credibility. That way the reader can be sure that it really was Mr. Adams that she saw. The

characterizing of Mr. Adams has the same purpose. “He was a heavy stout man with bulging bloodshot eyes. (...) Yes an ugly customer, one you wouldn’t forget.” This discription rules out the chance of the witnesses being wrong. In this short story, Graham Greene has used some narrative techniques to set a mood or point out some things. Like the plot-structure of the story and using certain language. Although there is some tension in the beginning of the story, I would say the tension gradually builds up until the twin brother rises in the back of the courtroom, which is the climax, and then fades out. But the author also ends the story with some tension. The last sentence:”But if you were Mrs. Salmon, could you sleep at night?” points out that there might be a murderer on free foot that she witnessed against in court. Leaving the reader with the possibilty of a murderer coming for her. One interesting thing in the story is the date of the murder, Febuary 14. This is Valentines Day, the day when you show someone you care. This might be a coincidence or maybe the author may have thought that it would be a nice contrast to what happened that day in the story. Graham Green also uses words that are typical in law to create a courtroom atmosphere. This gives the story that particular mood he wishes for the story to have. For example: “Crown counsel” or “The man in the dock”. Other than this, he has not done anything distinctive regarding style or language. During the time of this story, a convinction for murder was punished with a deathsentence. I think that what Graham Greene tries to say through “The Case for the Defence” is that execution should be abolished. This message becomes particularly clear when one of the twin brothers is run over by a bus: The story says that the police kept the roadway clear for traffic, yet a bus suddenly comes driving the exact moment that he is pushed out on the road. “Divine vengeance?”, the author says in the text. By writing this I think that Graham Greene is evidently saying that human beings do not have the right to judge other people, only God should have this jurystiction. And with this I totally agree. How can we as humans, all created equal by God, give ourselves the right to judge others? Analysis

of:

The

Case

for

the Defence

Death penalties are strictly forbidden in England today, but if we go only eighty years back in time, to the late 1930s, this sort of penalty were still very much in use. In the crime; The Case for the Defence, we follow the case for a Mr Adams. He is the main suspect of murdering an old woman. She was found battered to death in Northwood Street, right outside London. The case is looking quite bad for the defendant, as the one witness after the other give evidence that he is guilty. But at the time when the situation seems really hopeless for Mr Adams, the case takes a shocking turn. The ideal witness, Mrs Salmon, enters the witness box and is about to swear that they have taken the right man, when the defendants twin brother stands up. Her certainty of the guilt of the defendant is in a second turned to totally confusion. Mr Adams and his twin brother looks like two drops of water, and it’s impossible to be absolutely sure of which one who is the guilty one. Because of the loss of evidence, the suspected twin and his brother are set free. The huge amount of press that is right outside the entrance is waiting for the twins to come out. In just a second, one of the twins is pushed right in front of a bus and dies. Then there is just one big question left; did the guilty twin die? Or is he the one who is alive, who now runs free? The story is told through the eyes of an anonymous person. If it’s a man or a woman, I don’t know, but we do

know that he or she is in the court during the trial. In the first paragraph, the storyteller says “They named it the Peckham murder in the headlines…”, so if I should guess what part the storyteller is in the court, I would guess for a journalist for a newspaper. Also at the end of the story, when the twins are acquitted, he or she is only six feet away. This makes my theory most likely correct. The person who is telling the story describes the witnesses and how they present their evidences against Mr Adams innocence. It’s quite hard to point out one main character in the story. In one way you can say that the main character is the storyteller, but since he or she doesn’t take part in the real action, I have to check him or her off the list. The defendant, Mr Adams, doesn’t say anything in the whole story, even though he is the suspect, so he can’t either be the main character. How about Mrs Salmon then? She is the most mentioned person in the story, and the main witness. So if I had to choose one main character, it has to be her. The

characters

in

the

book:

I think we should start with Mrs Salmon. She is the most important witness in the trial, and her description of the murders appearance fits perfectly with Mr Adams looks. She looks like the perfect witness, with her kind and innocent looks. Her language is firmly and precisely spoken, in a slight Scottish accent. This all combined, makes her seems like an angel in the court. Mr Adams or Mr Adam, is the defendant and is found guilty in murdering the old woman. He faces the gallows if not something really proving is brought to the court. Mr Adam is one of those men you wouldn’t like to meet in a dark side street late at night. He is a large man, with a big stomach and muscular thighs. One characteristic that the four witnesses noted was his bulging bloodshot eyes. Mrs Parker, Henry MacDougall and Mr Wheeler, are the three other witnesses in the trial. Both Mrs Parker and Mr Wheeler woke up from a noise and spotted Mr Adams when they looked out the window. Henry MacDougall on the other hand, nearly ran Mr Adams down, who was walking in the middle of the road. They all note his special eyes. The setting in the story takes place in the Central Criminal Court and at Northwood Street, were the murder was committed. The story takes place back in the late 1930s in England. Most of the story is in court, were the witnesses are questioned by the counsel for the Crown. My

conclusion:

I thought at the beginning that the story was boring and pointless, but it turned out to have a frustrating, but interesting end. I think the story is about; that you can never say for certain that the suspected for murder, really is guilty, especially if the evidences is not good enough. So I will say that the main theme is justice. Justice in every case of murder, likewise as in any other situation. Like Mrs Salmon, she could swear that the man she saw that night was Mr Adams, until the point when his twin brother stood up. Then she was no longer able to point out the guilty one. What if the other brother was the man who actually had killed the poor old woman? And that’s the thing about the story, that we will never find out who actually was responsible for the murder. When I first looked at the heading, I immediately thought that the story was going to be hard to read, but it wasn’t. The author, Graham Greene, wrote the story in a way you can imagine that you are the storyteller who watches all from the sideline. And the language is easy to understand. I did really like the text, since it had an interesting point at the end. I liked the last sentence; “But if you were

Mrs Salmon, could you sleep at night?” because Mrs Salmon had just testified against one of the brothers, and since she doesn’t know which is the one who is still alive, and if it is the guilty one, maybe he will take revenge on her. I will absolutely recommend this text to others, since it has a turning point that you can’t stop thinking about.

Some

facts

about

the

author:

Henry Graham Greene was born as the fourth of six children in Hertfordshire, England, but at the age of 22 he moved to London. Later he lived in West Africa, Nice and at the French Riviera. When he moved to London he married Vivien Dayrell-Browning. But he didn’t manage to be a good family man. He had many affairs, and he claimed that through the 1920s and 1930s he had some sort of relationship with no less than forty-seven prostitutes. His father, Charles Greene, was not well educated, but became the heaster of Berkhamsted School. His mother was called Marion Raymond Greene. Henry started his career early of as a journalist, first for the Nottingham Journal and later as a sub-editor for The Times. This was a wrong chose for him since he never got any success. After his successful release of the novel The Man Within in 1929, he quit his job as a sub- editor and started a career as a full time novelist. His first’s books success didn’t last long, since his two next books were a failure. But in 1932 things started to look promising again. He released the novel Stambol Train which got excellent critics. The book was adapted as the film Orient Express two year later. When he moved to London he married Vivien Dayrell-Browning. But he didn’t manage to be a good family man. He had many affairs, and he claimed that through the 1920s and 1930s he had some sort of relationship with no less than forty-seven prostitutes.

Graham Greene has been quite good known for his affairs with other woman while he still was married to Vivian and a catholic and also the many the lawsuits in his career. But maybe the most shocking statements were made after his death. After his death a biography was released who referred Graham Greene as a spy who has been reporting to British intelligence. Who has been impossible to reveal because of his lifelong novelist career as cover. “It was the strangest murder trial I ever attended. They named it the ‘Peckham Murder’ in the headlines, though Northwood Street, where the old woman was found battered to death, was not strictly speaking in Peckham.” From ‘The Case for the Defence’ by Graham Green. Graham Greene was an English novelist, short-story writer, playwright and journalist, who was a fantastic storyteller but also liked to deal with moral issues in his works, many of which often had political settings. Greene was a devout Roman Catholic and a member of the Communist party and Independent Labour Party. His short story, ‘The Case for the Defence‘, is a thriller written in 1939 when, at that time in Britain, a conviction for murder carried with it the death penalty. Greene uses this book to throw doubts over this punishment and to echo his beliefs that capital punishment should be abolished. The story begins in the Central Criminal Court in London at the trial of Mr Adams, who is accused with what was dubbed the “Peckham Murder”; the murder of a Mrs. Parkers

who was battered to death in Northwood Street. Adams was accused of the murder when four witnesses saw him or someone with his appearance coming out of Mrs. Parker’s house holding a hammer on the day that she was murdered. The case is muddied by the fact that while Adams is standing in the dock there is another Adams, his identical twin sitting at the back of the court with his wife. The witnesses are all called to give their testimony and the final witness, Mrs. Salmon, who is also the prime character in the story identifies the man in the dock as the murderer. However when Mrs. Salmon has the identical twin pointed out to her she becomes very confused. This confusion means that it is impossible to say which of the twins was the murderer and the accused Adams is acquitted because of lack of evidence. However, divine intervention takes over the rule of Justice when on leaving the court, one of the Adams brothers is hit by a speeding bus, and killed, his skull being hammered in the precise way that Mrs. Parker's had been. The story finishes with the reader not knowing who the murderer was – was it the man lying dead on the road or was it the brother who is knelt crying over his twin’s body? The story is told through a narrator (probably the prosecutor in court) who does not participate in the plot but refers to the events of the story in the third person. This means that the reader is left to read between the lines of what the narrator is saying to work out what really happened and also gives a good description of the characters, like Mrs. Salmon who is described as “the ideal witness, with her slight Scotch accent and her expression of honesty, care and kindness” showing the reader that her witness was reliable especially as the accused is described as “a heavy stout man with bulging bloodshot eyes”, not a character she was likely to have mistaken as someone else. This short story is a good tense read and Graham Greene keeps the tension going right up to the end of the book as he finishes it with the words ”But if you were Mrs. Salmon, could you sleep at night?” By writing this the author is showing the reader that there is probably still a murderer on the loose and that Mrs. Salmon may be in some danger. This is a quick and easy short story to read and one that makes an ideal introduction to anyone who had not experienced the works of Graham Greene. The Case for the Defence “The Case for the Defence” is a short story written by Graham Greene in the late 1930. It’s a story about a murder trial that is quite unusual. Graham Greene wrote it as a reaction when a conviction for murder carried the death penalty. A woman has been found battered to death, and there are four witnesses. The suspect doesn’t stand a chance of getting away, but there is a major break-through. He has a twin brother who is identical, which causes both to be acquitted due lack of evidence. I think the book is about the good and the bad in a community. The criminal in this short story is described as a ugly guy, with bulging bloodshot eyes, and this isn’t a very nice description, and I think the reason the author has described the man like this is to have a very clear perception between good and bad. Mrs. Salmon, the star witness is described as the “ideal witness” with a touch of scotch accent, and her impression of honesty. I think this description helps her being the “good” role model in the book, with her testifying against the suspect, contributing to getting him a verdict.

Another theme is religion, and that no human have the right to decide to kill a man, no matter what, but God is the only one to do this. I came up with this theme, because in the pamphlet it says that Graham Green wrote it as a reaction of a death penalty case in the late 1930, and after a serious round of thinking. For example, one of the Adams was mysteriously “pushed” in front of a bus which causes him to die. I think that this is God’s way to punish him. Graham Greene writes: “but if you where Mrs. Salomon would you be able to sleep at night?” as a comment when one of the Adams where killed. I think this is to wake up the mind of the reader to understand the main theme of the story, the fact that god never would punish an innocent man. The main characters in the story are Mrs. Salmon, Mr. Adams and Mrs. Parker. Mrs. Parker is the women who was found battered to death. Mrs. Salmon is the ideal witness, and she testifies against Mr. Adams, who killed Mrs. Parker. It isn’t mentioned in the story how the relationship between Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Salmon is, but I guess they are somehow friends, because they are neighbors. There isn’t a hint of why Mr. Adams killed Mrs. Parker, but after his appearance to judge from, I would say he’s like a wild animal, with a thirst for blood. Where and when is not mentioned in the story, but I must guess the time is around 1930, when Graham Greene wrote the book. The location is in Northwood Street, England, near Peckham. I imagine Northwood Street is an upper-class society, where people own there own houses with gates, as explained in the story. I doubt the setting is relevant for the story, because the theme can be put in a lot of different scenes with the same result. The narrator is a spectator in court, a reporter who is covering the murder case. He describes the circumstances and the setting in court. There is a quite exciting story all through, with new added information all the time. The turning point is when Mr. Adams (nr 2) raises in court, leading the trial to come to a brutal end, causing one criminal and one innocent man to be acquitted. Another turning point is when one of the twins gets killed by the bus. The language in the story is quite normal English, but you do recognize it’s British and not American English. There is a lot of dialogue in the text, and I think this is a reason for the text to remain the excitement throughout the whole story. There aren’t so many words that are hard to understand, but a lot of words and expressions regarding law and order, and this can be tricky if you haven’t experienced these before. All in all I liked this text, mostly because of the story, but some because of the way it was written too. I think it was kind of weird the way the twins where both acquitted, instead of more investigation, but I guess this is to get a clear view of the theme. You are right that there are supposed to have been four witnesses who saw Adams around the time of the crime. Mrs. Salmon, of course, saw him from her window. Henry MacDougall nearly ran him over while driving home. Mr. Wheeler lived next door to Mrs. Parker and also saw Adams through a window just as Mrs. Salmon did. The fourth witness is mentioned in the last sentence of the paragraph in which all these other witnesses are listed. The fourth witness is not given a name. It is simply stated that this witness (we do not even know whether it was a man or a woman) saw Adams “in Laurel Avenue.” So, there is a fourth witness but we know nothing about that person.