Suffice to say that, based on the way daphne monet the title devil is. Examples of animalistic ties would be raymond alexander and mice, daphne monet and a chameleon, and easy rawlins and the jay bird on his fence. Daphne monet, the devil in a blue dress, is mysterious and elusive. Devil in a blue dress is a 1990 hardboiled mystery novel by walter mosley, his first published book. Devil in a blue dress chapters 56 summary and analysis. He looked like a typical italian mafia type and that wasnt at all. Examples of animalistic ties would be raymond alexander and mice, daphne monet and a chameleon, and easy rawlins. Scott fitzgerald uses colors in the great gatsby to represent characters virtues or traits. Devil in a blue dress is a 1990 detective novel written by walter mosley. The devil in a blue dress character analysis 1150 words bartleby. Analysis and discussion of characters in walter mosleys devil in a blue dress. Devil in a blue dress by walter mosley is the 1st book in the famed easy.
He is fiercely proud of his home and haunted by memories from the war. The protagonist, easy rawlins, has no family connections and is largely self educated. The best thing about this novel was the ambiance and the character of easy. I recommend devil in the blue dress to anybody looking for a detective novel. After my second reading of devil in a blue dress i was so happy to have. The major themes of race and war come up in mosleys first two short chapters of devil in a blue dress.
The novel follows rawlins as he investigates the whereabouts of a mysterious woman named daphne monet and embarks on his new career as a detective. The text centers on the main character, ezekiel easy rawlins, and his transformation from a day laborer into a detective. Devil in a blue dress introduced walter mosleys hero, ezekiel easy rawlins to the. Devil in a blue dress is a throwback to the pioneers of noir like hammett, chandler, and cain. What makes this novel interesting, however, goes beyond that. Her real name is ruby hanks, and her mother is african american. Feeling squeezed financially and afraid to forfeit his humble home, easy agrees to work for an unsavory white man named dewitt albright. Albrights character in the book is cold, calculating, and unpredictable.
Devil in a blue dress tells the story of ezekial easy rawlinss efforts to find daphne monet and also tells the concurrent story of rawlinss selfdiscovery. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of devil in a blue dress by walter mosley. He has been commissioned by todd carter to locate daphne monet, and he hires easy to help him. Set in june 1948, the novel opens with easy wetting his whistle at joppys bar. Devil in a blue dress chapters 12 summary and analysis.
Devil in a blue dress is a great read because the characters are well drawn, the scenes are believable and of course easy is a true hero, a good man and a long suffering man who has been through the wringer and is being put through one in the book. Devil in a blue dress introduced walter mosleys hero, ezekiel easy rawlins to the reading public. Devil in a blue dress study guide contains a biography of walter mosley, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Devil in a blue dress by walter mosley is the 1st book in the famed easy rawlins series. Another character that didnt work for me was tom sizemore as dewitt albright. In 1995, the movie version of devil in a blue dresswas released, adapted for the screen and directed by carl franklin. The books first sentence sets racial tensions in play. Devil in a blue dress, a defining novel in walter mosleys bestselling easy rawlins. The devil in a blue dress featuring of colored characters, racial identity, social structures as. I disagree, moseleys characters in this work, and the predicaments they find.
Rawlins is a strong character, and it is easy to see how he quickly built into a series lead with a big following. The main character, easy rawlins, has just been fired from his job at an airplane manufacturing plant. The text centers on the main character, ezekiel easy. The movie was a success due in large part to its stellar cast including denzel washington as easy, don cheadle as mouse, tom sizemore as dewitt albright, and jennifer beals as daphne monet. Rawlins is a strong character, and it is easy to see how he quickly. Likewise, in the novel, devil in a blue dress, walter mosley utilizes animal symbolism to assign his characters animalistic characteristics from commonly known animals. Devil in a blue dress by walter mosley criminal element. The book is mosleys first novel, as well as the first in a series featuring fictional detective easy rawlins.
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