The Outcome

I was not happy with the ending. I was okay with it for Walter Huff. You could tell through the book that Walter Huff genuinely felt sorry for what he had done. Every time he was around Lola he felt guilty for what he had done. The more he got to know her and spend time with her the more he could not stand what he had done. Then after he got shot and winded up in the hospital, he wanted to make sure that Lola did not get hurt by the police. He knew she did not do it. He also knew that Nino did not do it. He knew they were there and did not know why they were there. He still knew that Phyllis is the one that did it. I think his confession came because he cared so much for Lola and he wanted to finally be punished for what he did. For phyllis though I thought she got off to easy. Especially since this was not her first murder. She had killed kids, the first Mrs. Nirdlinger, and then finally had Mr. Nirdlinger killed. I don’t think the punishment was really a punishment for her. For Walter Huff having to be around Phyllis was probably punishment. To have remember everything that happened when you are by yourself thinking about is enough, but then he will probably also remember every time he sees her face. The person he first cared about. The person he ultimately killed for. The person he now did not want to have anything to do with. 

Walter Huff's Feeling Change

The relationship between Walter Huff and Phyllis Nirdlinger takes a big twist in this section of the novel. In the first section they both trusted each other. They got along. They wanted to spend time with each other. In the second part they become distance. The first time you see this is when they argue you about him taking the train. Walter Huff wants him to take the train and Phyllis Nirdlinger says her husband will not go for it.
In this piece of conversation you can see Walter Huff get mad at Phyllis Nirdlinger for the first time. Starting
with Phyllis Nirdlinger, ""Hadn't we better give up the train idea?" "Listen it's the train or we don't do it."
"Well, my goodness, you don't have to snap at me." "Just pulling off some piker job, that don't interest me. But this, hitting it for the limit, that's what I go for. It's all I go for." "I was just wondering." "Quit wondering."" (Caine 36-37). This is just one of the few times in this section of the novel that he gets mad at her. Another time is after the murder takes place and she is driving him back to his car. He gets mad because her shoes are scuffed up. He tells her she should not have carried the body from the car. He tells her she should have let him carry the body. You also see after the murder and Walter Huff is back in his apartment how his feelings have changed for Phyllis Nirdlinger. "I had killed a man. I had killed a man to get a woman. I had put myself in her power, so there was one person in the world that could point a finger at me, and I would have to die. I had done all that for her, and I never wanted to see her again as long as I lived. That's all it takes, one drop of fear, to curdle love into hate." (Caine 54). I think this shows the one of the descriptions of film noir because in "Primary Character and Convictions of Film Noir: Themes and Styles" they write, "Film Noir films (mostly shot in grays, blacks and whites) show the dark and inhumane side of human nature with cynicism and doomed loved , and they emphasize the brutal, unhealthy, seamy, shadowy, dark and dadistic sides of the human experience." One things he mentions is doomed loved. At the beginning Walter Huff would do anything to see Phyllis Nirdlinger. Now he is doing everything he can to stay away from her.

Double Indemnity - Aspects of Film Noir

The quote I have chosen to show that Double Indemnity has characteristics of film noir is “film noir is [crime] from within; from the point of view of the criminal.” I chose this quote because the story is told from Walter Huff’s point of view. While Phyllis Nordlinger first brought up the ideal of accident insurance, “But all of a sudden she looked at me, and I felt a chill creep straight up my back and into the roots of my hair. “Do you handle accident insurance?”” (Caine 6) and was probably already thinking about murdering him, it was Walter Huff who first brought up the idea of murder, “”You’re going to drop a crown block on him.”” (Caine 16). Phyllis Nordlinger denies everything at first and leaves his house. Later she goes back and denies it more, “”But - Walter, that’s what I’ve come for, again tonight. I’ve thought it over. I realize that there have been one or two things I’ve said that could give you a completely wrong impression. In a way, I’m glad you warned me about them to somebody else without knowing the - construction that could be put on them. But know that I do know, you must surely see that - anything of the sort must be out of my mind. Forever.”” (Caine 17). Walter Huff doesn’t let her off that easy though. He continue to tell her that she is going to murder her husband and then goes a step farther by saying that he is going to help her. After a while she finally admits to it and tells him what her plan is. After hearing her plan he tells her that it is no good and gives her an idea of how it is going to go down. Why Phyllis Nordlinger was already thinking about murder, Walter Huff is the real mastermind behind it all. Setting it up so that she doesn’t get caught.

Film Noir

Film noir deals with mostly black and white movies. They have a lot to do with crime. People who you would be innocent turn out to be the villains. They use shadows to draw your attention to certain details. They are not about the happy ending. They show the depressing part of life. The things we think can never happen to us. It has to do with the dangers in life. The things we do not see coming are way. It deals with the things that go on in our mind that we would not tend to say out loud or to act on. We see the corruption in the world. It rebels against authority. It left behind the 50’s style. Leave It to Beaver and Happy Days were a thing of the past. No more perfect families. It showed the faults that were in the world. It showed people that you might not truly know someone as well as you thought you did. It deals with drinking and smoking. It taught the world to go against society. Do what you want to do and do not conform to the way society wants you to be. Be an individual and not a follower. There was no clear good side or bad side. Sunny skies were not in the forecast. The women not as innocent as June Cleaver. Long skirts and button up blouses were a thing of the past. Buckle your seat belts the road is filled with twist and turns and a few bumps in the road.