Blog Entry #4

Zero Draft Questions #3 and #1

           Both Cain and Wilder’s Double Indemnity is portrayed in a strict manner to appropriately follow a chronological sequence. A story circled around and told by the ambiguous protagonist Walter Neff/Huff, beginning with his first encounter with the femme fatale character Phyllis Dietrichson/Nerdlinger. The protagonist gives great detail in both film and novel to the atrocities he already committed in his confession, elaborating with his own perception regarding the actions of himself and others. Every fore and after thought is expressed with each hard decision the protagonist had to undertake, leading up to his ultimate demise. If the story was told in another fashion rather than a chronological sequence, the mystery of which carries Double Indemnity’s plot and characters would perhaps become distorted or even diminished.

          In the end, the ambiguous protagonist faces his impending doom, yet they differ in how Walter meets that end. Wilder’s Walter sits helplessly, almost willingly; awaiting justice from the man he tried to stay one step ahead of, whether it be lighting a match for his cigar or simply outsmarting his friend and colleague, Barton Keyes. Walter finds himself in an awkward and reversed role of this man as Keyes finally lights a match for his cigarette, signifying Keyes now has the upper hand in the situation and any attempt in escape is futile. Cain’s Walter discovers that death may be his best and only solution. He finds himself alongside with the femme fatale character Phyllis Nerdlinger on a deadly ocean with no way out. Together, the two decide to commit suicide by jumping off the deck into the freezing ocean, yet Walter had received a gunshot wound prior to coming aboard the ship. He knows if he was not to drown in the water, the sharks that trail the boat would surely find the scent of blood leaking from his wound. Though, similar in both film and novel, a calming sense of reprieve embellishes over Walter as his last cigarette is lit and as he gazes deep into the vast sea below. This being evident, signifies the appropriateness of Double Indemnity's endings.