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After the first death


            
             After the First Death, by Robert Cormier is a complex psychological thriller which was published in 1979. It both disrupts, and conforms to its genre in order to engage the audience in a more emotive manner. It is a novel which is basically about how a bus of young school children was kidnapped by high-jackers. The bus gets driven to a bridge by the young woman bus driver, Kate, and it is there that the terrorists begin their negotiations. The son of a United States general becomes involved in these negotiations and becomes a part of the mission to rescue the children. Thriller novels are usually only concerned with action suspense and excitement, whereas on top of these things, this novel delves into the inner thoughts of particular individuals. It is for this reason, and many others on top of it, that After the First Death disrupts the view that most have of the thriller genre. One of the many ways that the novel conforms to the thriller genre is that it is the girl, Kate, that needs to be rescued, which is the case in many movies and novels that are part of the thriller genre.
             Other ways that After the First Death conforms to the thriller genre is that there is a strong political alignment. This means that the government is involved throughout the story, and therefore a degree of responsibility and public duty come into play. In many thrillers the government is involved to show a sense of power and authority. One of the main characters in this novel is General Marchand. Being a general for his country, most would expect that this character would have strong principals, be very trustworthy, and be a strong-hearted, good-willed character. In After the First Death, however, this character betrays his son, Ben, by sending him onto the bridge to negotiate with the terrorists. It is on the bridge that Ben gets shot by one of the terrorists, leading to his death. The result of this is that the general can not forgive himself and he becomes insane.


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