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Fatal Fiction: Taking a Deep Plunge Into the World of the Noir GenreMain MenuHow Do I Write a Noir Character?Noir Short Story Example & PromptThis is an example of a short noir story that I've posted here for you to reference and to spark your own creative writing.Noir VocabThe Black Dahlia MurderJust to show you noir fiction wasn't all made up.L.A. Noire MusicWorks CitedMichael Morellicbd187edf6555aaa1d52d9b6d741cee7fd50c982
Key Noir Themes
12015-12-03T08:20:49-08:00Michael Morellicbd187edf6555aaa1d52d9b6d741cee7fd50c98267474plain2015-12-03T18:46:07-08:00Michael Morellicbd187edf6555aaa1d52d9b6d741cee7fd50c982This page is here to refresh your memory of what the main noir themes are.
Alienation: The main character is usually alone in world of crime and corruption. He's usually the most moral out of all the main characters and ends up feeling alone as a result. Corruption: From the beginning, in the middle, and at the end, there is a ridiculous amount of corruption surrounding the main character, in both the world he lives in and the people around him. Feminine Betrayal: Whether it's a man being effeminate - and therefore "weak" - or a woman destroying his life, either on purpose or by accident, men in noir stories are often drastically hurt by the introduction of a woman. This also brings up the themes of sex and lust, which are seen as both unavoidable and damaging.
You can find elements of these themes in past works you've read and worked on in school such as: J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (alienation) George Orwell's 1984 (corruption) Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (corruption) Albert Camus' The Stranger (corruption and alienation)
All of these books can give you new perspectives on the noir themes here and strengthen the core of your writing.