ENG380N
Professor Sharp
Dec 13th 2012
How Megan Abbott Made The End of Everything An Interesting Crime Fiction
The most important part of The End of Everything is its ability of it to make the reader to be interested in the book, as there are no actions like all the other crime fiction stories. Having the reader to be interested in the story is especially, and very important in crime fiction books. Sometimes, the story can get very complicated, and there is a possibility that the reader can lose interest due to the complication. What could be more interesting than having a crime committed in front of you, give most of the details and still not be able to figure it out? This is how Megan Abbott draws people into her book and story. Megan Abbott weave an intricate and interesting plot full of fascinating characters, and all types of details about the crime, readers get drawn into the plot and cannot stop reading until they find out the solution to the mystery. The reader becomes absorbed in the story, but what is the trick that Megan Abbott uses to create such an environment to keep the reader not wanting to drop the book? Megan Abbott uses the characters, the setting, clues, and human nature as some of her tools to make the reader to be interested in her story. The easiest way to begin to draw any reader into a story is through the characters. By creating characters in which the readers can both trust and relate to is vital. Megan Abbott created Lizzie as the main character of the story, and tells the story through Lizzie’s voice. She also gives clues to Mr. Verver of Evie’s whereabouts, and helps Evie to return home. She acts as a detective by always keeping an eye on Mr. Verver, sneaking into Mr. Shaw’s house, and providing clues to Mr. Verver. This allows the reader to sympathize and believe that Lizzie would help Evie to return home, and stop the Ververss suffering. Lizzie also has romantic feelings towards Mr. Verver, and she does not want to see Mr. Verver suffer anymore. This assures the reader to believe and sympathize with Lizzie, and that she would help Evie return home. More insight into the personality of the character is given by showing traits such as being a tough girl who plays physically challenging sports such as soccer and hockey, and having sexually feelings when she is close to guys, especially when she is with Mr. Verver, who she is secretly in love. Megan Abbott also created Pete Shaw as a character who supports Lizzie. Pete Shaw does not like his family. He does not like his father, because his father does not spend time with the family, and sometimes he even forgets that his father is there. He does not like his mother, because his mother does not agree with him, and helps his father to do what he pleases. Pete Shaw wants a happy family, which he never gets in the story. Therefore, he snitches about his father’s whereabouts to Lizzie. The more the reader can understand and relate to the characters, the more the reader will be drawn into the story. Numerous authors have used the detective character as a man, and/or who actually works as a detective for living. Having a familiar character as a detective also draws attention from the readers. However, Megan Abbott goes against this theory by having someone, Lizzie, a girl who is in her thirteen, a best of the victim, and a person who is very close to the victim’s family, as a detective. Although she is not a legit detective in the story, she provides information to Mr. Verver with clues such as the Parliament cigarette packs, which the police oversee and she found outside of Mr. Shaw’s house. Although the crime fiction reader is not familiar with a thirteen year old protagonist, it interests the reader of what the thirteen year old girl might do, and makes the reader wants to find out her actual intention. The reader wants to know how her intentions would help Evie return home, and if he actually wants Evie to return home.