The Doorbell Rang: A Critique of Hoovers FBI - Essay Example

?The Doorbell Rang: A Critique of Hoover’s FBI Literature has often been explained as an artistic expression of the ideas. In the fiction genre, the authors are credited for putting creative ideas into words and making the readers live in the fantasy that they have developed. Some works of fiction, however, dare to be different in ways that may not even be considered as purely products of the mind. These are stories that may not have really happened and the characters are unreal, but these are based on real scenarios involving people who represent real individuals. The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout belongs to this category. When it first saw print, there were theories among the readers that Stout’s story was actually based on the experiences of real people. The truth, however, is that Stout never insisted that it was. The reason why many continue to think so is that the book was published at a time when the Federal Bureau of Investigation headed by J. Edgar Hoover was being heavily criticized for abuse. The plot of The Doorbell Rang deals with the said government abuse courtesy of the FBI and Hoover. It is apparent that while Stout is a writer of fictional crime novels, the current condition of American society at that time when he wrote The Doorbell Rang greatly shaped his ideas. Indeed, the plot of the novel is no longer just the usual formula of Nero Wolfe, a private investigator, solving crime. It is about his hero’s attempt to give justice to victim of government abuse. Of course, before it could pursue the essence of the plot, which is how Wolf and his assistant, Archie, tried to achieve their client’s request, it first has to put focus on the said abuses of the FBI. As expected, Hoover reacted in a negative manner and sought ways to minimize the impact that the books would be creating. The FBI placed Stout under watch and built a dossier. The US Senate’s Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations later in the mid-1970s exposed this, mentioning that the an FBI memorandum described the book as having a “presented a highly distorted and most unfavorable picture of the Bureau” (1976). Aside from the fact that this was a violation to Stout’s privacy, the action by the FBI in response to the book was an affront to his freedom of expression. Why would an established crime and mystery writer like Rex Stout dare to have a book published that dealt with government abuse, particularly those committed by the FBI? As a writer, Stout has the choice to write about such issue or not. However, there were external conditions that did prompt him to write a novel that is critical of Hoover and the FBI. Before The Doorbell Rang was published, a non-fiction book, The FBI Nobody Knows, written by Fred J. Cook came out. An investigative reporter, Cook presented to the public cases in which Hoover’s FBI committed unjust and even illegal methods that curtail the rights of individuals simply because they had been suspected of having links with the state’s perceived enemies. The book was not just based on mere hearsays; in fact, Cook cited the testimonies of FBI agents who were still in active service but had become disillusioned with the decisions of their superiors concerning the subjects for surveillance or for proactive measures. In response to the exposes that Cook had written in the book, the FBI made attempts to lessen the effect of the book on the public. As a result, the public reception of Cook’s book was not very warm. There were quarters who believed that Cook merely sensationalized the issue. However, even as “Cook’s publication received a muted reception, it signaled a progressive erosion of public confidence in the bureau” (Jeffreys-Jones 2007, p. 176). This means that the public did not immediately rise in uproar over the exposes presented by Cook but they did begin to open their minds to the possibility that the Hoover-led FBI was indeed violating civil and human rights in its desire to beat perceived enemies. It must be pointed out that by the time The FBI Knows was published, the bureau had become more concerned with running after political and ideological enemies of the state. Immediately after World War II, the Cold War began. It was not just the maneuvers of the Soviet Union in Europe, Asia, and the nearby Latin America that the US was worried about. By this time, Communist Party of USA and other organizations that were identified with the Left had been established in many parts of the country. An ardent anti-communist himself, Hoover began to transform the FBI from the country’s elite crime-fighting organization into machinery against suspected communists and even mere sympathizers as well as temporary and issue-based allies. Apparently, the tendency to make bogeys out of innocent civilians arose. Hoover explained that one does not need to be card-bearing member of the Communist Party to be considered a threat to the state. He even wrote that “the individual whose name does not appear on party (member lists) but who does the party’s dirty work, who acts as an apologist for the party... is a greater menace” (Cunningham 2005, p. 64). This statement was made during the era of McCarthyism, a time when an anti-communist witch-hunt was sweeping the country. To some extent, the said anti-communist campaign and the FBI’s own supporting actions in particular did create damage on the infrastructure of the Communist Party. The FBI was also able to apprehend Soviet spies working within the US. However, this also led to the infringement of the rights of individuals, including those that have been enshrined in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The desires of the FBI to prosecute and incarcerate those who are suspected of having links with the Soviets have led to serious violations of the rights of many citizens. The bureau’s main component that dealt with the alleged threat is its Counter-intelligence Program, the COINTELPRO, a name that soon became synonymous to government abuse. It was through COINTELPRO that dossiers were built of anyone who was considered to be sympathetic with the Left in general. These include artists, Civil Rights activists, labor leaders, unionists, student leaders, anti-war activists, anti-nuclear arms activists, academics, and even members and leaders of religious institutions who had expressed views in favor of civil rights, human rights, and the people’s struggles in the Latin America and Southeast Asia. Obviously, one does not need to be professed communist to deserve surveillance, restriction, and coercion from the FBI. In The Doorbell Rang, Mrs. Rachel Bruner, a very wealthy widow, read Cook’s The FBI Nobody Knows. She became convinced that the exposes made by the author were all true (Stout 1992, p. 3). She decided to buy thousands of copies of the book in order to distribute to people, especially those who she thought had great influence in running the affairs of the country. As a result, she earned the ire of FBI Director Hoover. In retaliation to the act of distributing literature that was inimical to its interests, the FBI subjected Mrs. Bruner to intense surveillance. It was not only her who was affected by the FBI’s actions, but the members of her family and her employees as well. For allegedly being a threat to the reputation of the FBI, Mrs. Bruner was subjected to measures that only the real enemies of the state deserve. It is clear that in Stout’s book, she might well be considered as someone who represents the American people, in general, who have become victims of the abuse being perpetuated by the bureau under Hoover. The objective conditions, the reality of the abuse being committed by the powerful Hoover-led FBI, have definitely prompted to Stout to write The Doorbell Rang. It is correct to state that this novel is a product of both fear and courage though. Objective conditions may serve as inspiration to the writer, but determination comes from within. The will to write according to what the conscience dictates can no longer come from the external. Internally, Stout already had apprehensions of what the FBI had become under Hoover and after the Second World War. This was expected because he is a writer, one who cherishes freedom of expression the most. While the FBI, despite its avowals to uphold and defend the freedoms guaranteed the Constitution, had sought to silence critics, Stout would have the tendency to stand up for the rights that are relevant to his profession. He may have felt fear from the possible reactions of the FBI, just as Mrs. Bruner felt, the character that best represents his apprehensions. However, as a writer, the greater object of fear would be censorship under a police state, with the FBI as the government’s main coercive machinery. Ironically, it was such fears that shaped his courage to stand for what he thinks are right. Stout’s political stand on the issue of FBI abuse was not just influenced by current social conditions and his own internal perspectives of these. His own past already gives basis for this. Prior to his prominence as a fiction writer, he was part of the American Civil Liberties Union (Anderson 1984, p. 6). In fact, he also wrote for publications that were known to have Marxist leanings in the 1920s. The struggle for basic rights and civil liberties are definitely not new to him. Even if he did choose not to make writing about anything as political as The Doorbell Rang, preferring instead to come up with mystery and detective fiction stories, it is impossible for him to absolutely forget his stand for human and civil rights. The Doorbell Rang is definitely a novel that is very critical of the FBI. Such criticism came at the right time, when the American people were becoming aware of the bureau’s abuses but had not yet gathered enough courage to call for reforms. However, it must also be emphasized that the book is just a reflection of the author’s ideas and attitude towards the issue. Determining the conditions that surround Stout and knowing his past political standpoint and affiliations, as well as his actual experience with the FBI, allow readers to appreciate more the value of the story. Works Cited Anderson, David. Rex Stout. New York, NY: Frederick Ungar, 1984. Cunningham, Kevin. J. Edgar Hoover: Controversial FBI Director. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2005. Jeffreys-Jones, Rhodri. The FBI: A History. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 2007. Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations. Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans. United States Senate, 1976. 27 January 2012. . Stout, Rex. The Doorbell Rang. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1992. Read More