Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming's personal experiences helped him achieve accuracy in technical information and ideas that he would later demonstrate in his writing. Ian Fleming led a fast paced, risky life. He was born in 1908 to wealthy parents, Valentine Fleming and Evelyn St. Croix Rose Fleming. Valentine Fleming was a landowner and a member of Parliament. Valentine died in the Great War when Ian was only nine. Ian enrolled in Eton University in England but was dismissed following an incident with a girl, a situation that would arise repeatedly throughout his life and show up later in his writing through the "Bond girls". Fleming then moved on to the Sandhurst Military Academy. He looked down on traditional military careers and never became an officer. He believed they were all too confining. Fleming officially left after he was caught violating curfew. Fleming's independence and desire to build his own identity clashed sharply with military conduct. After leaving the military academy, Fleming continued his schooling at Kitzbuhel in Austria. It was here that Ian gained his reputation for being handsome, cultured, and confident with the ladies. Fleming experimented with writing poetry and short stories,
"Why didn't you just shoot them down? They were sitting ducks with those sets in their hands." Ian Fleming's literature was widely labeled as being quite literal (Riley 159). Ian Fleming did not intend to hide his messages and themes. Almost anyone could read and understand his works. This is perhaps why his newly created style of writing caught on so quickly. By appealing to the popular requests of the people of the 1950s and 1960s for excitement, Fleming became a success. Much like today's television programs and movies, elements such as surprise, sex, action, violence, and an easily understood plot typically lead to high ratings. Perhaps Fleming realized this more than 40 years ago. Ian Fleming revealed few details about James Bond, the secret agent, almost making Bond inhuman. The reader is never given details about Bond's family or his other pursuits in life. No one knew where James Bond was the week before, what his favorite food was, or what his favorite pasttimes were. Details like emphasize that Bond was not meant to be understood as a common person. The following passage from the very end of Fleming's The Spy Who Loved Me, spoken by Bond's lover, Vivienne Michel, is indicative of how Fleming wanted his audience to view Bond's character: but had no intention of becoming a serious writer. Over the next few years he tried journalism and banking, both without success. Ian began to invite coworkers to lavish dinner parties at his rented apartment. High-stake bridge games, elaborate feasts, and empty romances eventually became his pasttimes. This was the time in his life when gambling, drinking, and women would eventually influence his novels. Another typical characteristic of a 007 novel was location, which was always somewhere exotic. In Thunderball, the plot unravels in the Caribbean islands. The heart of the Adirondack Mountains was the scene for The Spy Who Loved Me. The majority of From Russia With Love took place in Moscow. Crowded bars, clubs, fine restaurants, banquet halls, intricate enemy hideouts, and government buildings served as the scenery in every novel. Gambling, drinking, fine dining, promiscuity, torture, shootouts, midnight expeditions, and explosions can be found in one combination or another in every 007 story Fleming wrote. A typical formula, or set of actions, common to most of Fleming's novels noted Ian's new style of writing. A female who would appear to be Bond's opposition would fall in love with him. The reader could always count on one master villain that Bond gracefully kills in the end. It should be noted that Bond was not a savage; he only killed when absolutely necessary. The following passage from The Spy Who Loved Me gives a rare insight into Bond's motivations when Vivienne asks Bond why he didn't kill the two thugs:
Some common words found in the essay are:
James Bond, Ian Fleming, Van Dover, Vivienne Michel, Auric Goldfinger, Moscow Crowded, Austria Ian, Vivienne Bond, Military Academy, Spy Loved, james bond, ian fleming, secret agent, van dover, spy loved, 007 novels, van dover 160, dover 160, passage spy loved, created style, war ian, military academy, bond secret agent,
Approximate Word count = 1971
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
