The private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every sense but one, that one sense being that in life as we know it such a man would not be a private detective.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The private detective in fiction is a realistic fantasy that does not exist in real life.
- In plain terms
- Fictional detectives seem real but would not survive in the real world.
- What can you take from it?
- Fictional characters can be realistic yet unrealistic in practice.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we like impossible characters?
- Is fiction meant to be realistic?
Another view
It simplifies the actual role of private investigators.
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