Mike Hammer – Outcast or Superhero?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Acta Facultatis Philosophicae Universatis Prešoviensis, Literárnovedný zborník 41 (AFPh UP 384/465): Language, Literature And Culture In a Changing Transatlantic World II |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Linguistics |
| Keywords | Mickey Spillane; Mike Hammer |
| Description | This article focuses on Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer. Spillane created a new 'sort' of a private detective. He is nothing like Marlowe, Spade or Archer, he is not solving crimes for money or to bring the criminal in front of the jury for a fair trial, he is the avenger who is 'cleansing' the society, or righting the wrong in his own way – 'eye for an eye'. He never doubts that his killing of the criminal represents the rightful punishment. Therefore he is for some only an unscrupulous killing machine, but others see him as an avenger in the name of the 1950's American everyman. He possesses astounding endurance that almost makes him invulnerable, invincible – he survives extreme situations that place him outside the normal humanity. Hammer was created to protect the fictional American society of the 1950's, he has to be tough, merciless and brutal – he is the 'evil for the good'. |