Investigating Ethnicity #3

As I'm sure most of you are aware of, the amount of crime on campus has been nothing short of staggering this year. With the double homicide last semester, it is easy to think about the numerous armed robberies that have occurred on or in direct proximity to campus. For the first time in my life, I've actually thought about crime around me. I have no problem at all (and I actually enjoy) reading about and watching movies crime, but I feel like now I'm gaining a better understanding of the true nature of crime. In terms of the robberies, crime targets the random innocent. In Marlowe's world (as well as most other crime fiction, old or new), the random innocent is spared. Everyone who dies at least knows the kind of people that they are dealing with. Sure, Rusty Regan didn't really do anything wrong in the time table of The Big Sleep, but he had to know that traipsing around with one of the Sternwood daughters would inevitably lead to trouble. In Marlowe's world, crimes happen on a sort of schedule. Several times in the novel, it seemed to me as if the crimes were "waiting" for him in a way. Even when Geiger is killed, Marlowe is there to see it and pick up the pieces. He is able to do this because the killer's motive is known. The randomness of today's crime effectively neuters such a skill. I can't help thinking that Marlowe couldn't hack it in our world. Well, we still have movies.