Murder Scenes in Thrse Raquin and Perfume - Book Report/Review Example

The similarities between the two scenes are mostly based on the fact that both are ones of murder. Fear for example is an emotion that the protagonists of both scenes experience. Although Grenouille has managed to maintain his calm during and after the murdering process, the fear element still existed. The sound of the blow is what got him scared or even more the possibility of hearing an echo to this sound. When it comes to Camille's murder scene, fear plays a prominent role. Throughout the scene, Thrse's panic went gradual.

It started by an unexplained anxiety that preceded the murder. During the murdering process, that anxiety turned into a nervous breakdown that eventually led to her losing consciousness. The panic that this young woman felt was expressed by many physical evidences: ''her lower limbs were trembling with anxiety.'', '' The young woman turned horribly pale''and '' bursting into sobs, and falling to the ground.. ''.These descriptions are revealing of the character of madame Raquin.She strikes us as a woman who is torn between her love and her conscience.

Her fear is explainable however as it is normal for any woman in her situation to feel such feeling. When it comes to the victim, Camille, his fear is mixed with a feeling of shock and one of denial. All that mixture of feelings prevented him from expressing himself.His reaction is also revealing of his nature. On one hand, he appears to be a man who has an unlimited confidence in his wife and his friend. On the other hand, he seems to be a gullible person who fails to understand the visible signs exchanged by Therese and Laurent proving they are planning for something.

Fear in both scenes influenced the protagonists' behaviour. In Perfume, Grenouille, being scared of losing any of the victim's scent, finishes all his work in a few minutes. That explains the rapidity of the rhythm that the execution followed. The abundance of action verbs in the scene "cut, pulled, tossed, lifted, tugged, rolled, packed, tied up, pressed" is revealing of Grenouille's character. He seems to be determined as well as materialistic. He is scared for the perfume but doesn't think of the victim or even fear being caught by the police.

The rapidity of action is also one trait in common between the two scenes. In Thrse Raquin, Laurent managed to commit his crime in a relatively brief time. His quick reaction after the murder proves how afraid he was of being caught. Laurent, "without losing a second", managed to regain his calm and to successfully convince the other party of sailors that it was only an accident that caused Camille's death.Apart from the fear by the main characters, another important element links between the two scenes which is Violence.

Any murder scene is normally more or less violent. The way Grenouille dealt with the corpse is the main source of violence in the scene extracted from Perfume. He wouldn't hesitate before cutting her nightgown with scissors and scalping her head without giving any sign of compassion. The comparison "[..]rolled her up in it as a baker rolls strudel" illustrates his inhuman way of dealing with the corpse. The violence of the scene is highlighted by the considerable number of body parts mentioned in it: "mouth, armpits, breasts, genitals, feet, shins, ..etc.

" In the other scene, violence was integrated