Emulation of Cain

Character- 

James M. Cain has a pattern of his characters being morally ambiguous and portraying the darker aspects of human nature including desires, crime, and betrayal. In both The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Cocktail Waitress, Cora and Joan both struggle internally with the battle of desires and even survival in some cases.  A way to describe Joan is this quote where she explains, “ I wanted to be somebody, I wanted money, security, a place in the world- and I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me from getting it.” 

Setting-

The author conveys the main character's personal struggles through his carefully crafted settings. The aspects of desperation and desire for example are shown through the poorly lit bar that Joan frequented and made most of her questionable decisions. While Cora's struggles of getting out of her marriage and daily struggles working at the rundown diner are portrayed for the way that the setting is described in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Speaker-

The author uses first person point of view to enhance the story line and give deeper understandings of the morals and values of the speaker as well. In instances such as The Postman Always Rings Twice Frank’s point of view as first person makes his thoughts and reasons for his actions very apparent which serves as a confessional throughout the novel. 

Emulation of Cain-

We had been out on the beach beside the Gulf of Mexico everyday for the past week, soaking up the sun, laying our eyes on new prizes, and drinking until we forgot our names. That's when we met him- Lucas. He was a tan sight to see with muscles like we have never seen before, and a smile with the most perfectly white teeth. 

His wife, Ava was a lifeguard there. Skinny, tan, and perfect. She never talked much and seemed to be a bitch, so we wondered what was his fascination with her. She looked at us like she knew we had our eyes on something that was hers, but she never wavered and continued on with her day. 

That night we gathered by the bonfire and we noticed eyes from across the flames, it was him staring deeply into our soul. He came closer to talk. After many minutes of exchanging life stories he shared what we wanted to know most.

“I’m not happy with her,” he said with confidence.

“Then leave her.”

“Maybe I will,” he said with his eyes starting to focus just on mine. “Maybe I just need someone to take me.” 

And from there I knew. The feelings were mutual and he wouldn’t be stuck with that miserable woman anymore.