The Case for the Defence | Analysis

Denne study guide hjælper dig med en analyse af teksten "The Case for the Defence" af Graham Greene. I guiden viser vi dig eksempler på elementer i novellen, som vil være relevant at kigge på i en analyse. Derudover får du også et summary og vores bud på novellens tema og budskab.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “The Case for the Defence”
Forfatter: Graham Greene
Genre: Novelle
Udgivelse: 1947

Graham Greene (1904-1991) var en britisk forfatter, som skrev romaner, noveller og skuespil. I sin levetid skrev han 25 romaner og var nomineret til Nobelprisen i litteratur. Hans omfattende forfatterskab gjorde ham til en meget populær forfatter i hans samtid. De fleste af hans værker handler om politiske og sociale temaer, men havde et katolsk perspektiv. Romanen The Power and the Glory betragtes som hans litterære mesterværk. Green havde bipolar lidelse, som i høj grad havde indflydelse på hans skrivestil. Novellen, "The Case for the Defence", blev udgivet i 1947 i en samling kaldet Nineteen Stories.

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Setting and time

“The Case for the Defence” by Graham Greene takes place in London, sometime at the end of the 1930s. The location is indicated by district names, such as Peckham and the 15 Northwood Street, where the murder took place.

The main setting is that of the Criminal Court, but the end of the story takes place on the street. Consider the contrast between these two settings. The Criminal Court is a confined, man-made place, while the street is in the open. These two settings become symbolic of man-made laws and divine laws. As you have seen, the man-made laws fail and people can go around them and escape punishment. By simply introducing reasonable doubt, the defence lawyer saves his client: “What we saw then was the end of the case. There wasn't a witness prepared to swear that it was the prisoner he'd seen.” (p. 41, ll. 11-12)