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THREE IS A LUCKY NUMBER

Caroline Horst
UPLOADED BY
Caroline Horst

Caroline HorstEngelsk AFredag d. 3 Oktober

THREE IS A LUCKY NUMBER
The short story “Three is a lucky number” written by argery Allingham is told !rom a 3
rd
"erson narrators #iew with insight in the main characters thoughts and considerations.
$onald Frederick Torbay is the name o! the main character and he is a cold%blooded killer.
He currently li#es on a long suburban street with his third wi!e Edyth. $onald is a #ery
intelligent man. He is ca"able o! almost e#erything and he sees to that e#erything is done
"er!ectly down to the tiniest detail. He is aware o! his cle#erness and that he is wiser than
most human beings. As his career in homicide is im"ro#ing he is determined to kee" a tight
hold on himsel! so the success won&t go to his head. 'esides the !act that he is aware o! how
smart he is( $onald doesn&t think #ery highly o! his own looks.
“That narrow slip, quite straight, was almost lipless and, unconsciously, he persuaded it to
relax into a half smile. Even Ronald Torbay did not like his own mouth.
)*.++( ,l.-%/01 The !act that he thinks the world o! his own intelligence but don&t like his !ace
is telling us that he doesn&t care much about his looks. He is not the kind o! man whom
women are drawn to. That is why he is aiming !or middle%aged single women with low
sel!%esteem whom are des"erately looking !or lo#e. 'ecause o! his “mastermind” he thinks o!
the murdering as a 2ob and o! his wi#es as sub2ects.
“ !e always thought of his wives as “sub"ects.
)*. 0( ,l.+%1$onald sees the wi#es as sub2ects to kee" a distance !rom getting emotionally
in#ol#ed. He needs to ha#e his head in the game and there!or any !eelings can&t occur.
Emotions will only make his so%called career dicult !or him. 4hen he chooses a sub2ect he
works #ery care!ully. He is certain to get their attention and make them !eel s"ecial.
“Ronald was careful not to let her toes touch the ground. !e devoted his entireattention to
her#
)*.0( ,l3-%3/1 4hen $onald is choosing to "ro#ide a des"erate woman with e5tra attention and
lots o! lo#e they will 6uickly !all in lo#e with him. They will !eel blessed and ha""y to ha#e met
such a lo#ely and caring man and they will be easy to mani"ulate into e#erything he ask
them to. $onald has been getting away with two murders on two di7erent women. He !eels
certain arrogance about his doings and with his e5"erience in killing he is con8dent with the
third homicide he is about to commit. Howe#er Edyth is showing a bit o! cautiousness
concerning her business "a"ers. *he is acting strange9 asking weird 6uestions( and re!use to
discuss her "a"er work with $onald. This is making $onald #ery leery. -
Caroline HorstEngelsk AFredag d. 3 Oktober
“Ronald had given up feeling angry with her and decided to act
)*. -( ,l. /:%/+1 4hen $onald !eels the tiniest bit o! resistance he needs to act 6uickly. Edyth is
being annoying and dicult to mani"ulate and there!or must she die now. Edyth is on the other
hand a #ery lo#e gi#ing and kind "erson( at 8rst she doesn&t sus"ect $onald and she
certainly don&t want to belie#e the horri!ying truth. Howe#er when the !acts ha#e been "ut
on the table she is willing to do something about it. From $onald "oint o! #iew you get the
idea o! Edyth being a na;#e and gullible housewi!e 2ust as stu"id as any other woman.
Howe#er Edyth shows a great courage and #igour in the letter she writes to $onald in the
end.
“$or a long time % have been hoping that it might not be necessary to write it but now your
behaviour has forced me to face some very unpleasant possibilities. “
)*.:( ,l. -0%-/1 Edyth is #ery intelligent and bra#e( and !urther on in the letter she describes
how she !or long ha#e been "lanning this and how she was willing to stay "ut as a decoy.
“ That is why % am forcing myself to be brave and to play my part#. &
*. +( ,l.-+%-1*he has outsmarted $onald and that can make you come to doubt on how
intelligent he really is. This is clearly a crime story about committing a crime but as the
reader you don&t !eel any sym"athy with $onald and you de8nitely don&t wish !or him to
succeed. This is #ery di7erent !rom “,amb to the slaughter” because you wish !or the main
character ary to co#er u" the murder o! her husband. 4hether to call it a hardboiled crime or
not de"ends #ery much on how you imagine the setting to be. $onald is a character that is
"er!ect !or the hardboiled genre( but howe#er the suburban road doesn&t 8t in. <t is the best
o! both crime 8ction%worlds. /
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