In the Heat of the Night

Ball employs darkness for a heightened dramatic effect. The night offers opportunity for misdeeds and enhances the narrative’s crime novel aesthetic. Sam discovers Enrico’s body at night, making the crime scene feel mysterious and eerie. Other moments of deceit and violence occur at night as well. Delores exposes herself at night, eventually leading to Sam’s arrest for seduction. Later, two men attack Virgil at night. In the story, darkness provides a cover for multiple crimes and the setting for Sam and Virgil’s detective work. They drive at night, following what leads they have, struggling to navigate the darkness and unravel their scanty leads, nervous about an unknown and unseen the killer. By setting their investigative scenes at night, Ball utilizes darkness to create mystery and unease.

Ball also combines the night and the heat to raise the stakes of the story. In Chapter 6, Sam feels a newfound fear of the night as he patrols, and the oppressive heat enhances that anxiety: “Once more Sam reminded himself that he was a prime target; the baking heat of the night began to be streaked with a kind of chill that hung in the blackness, waiting” (60). The darkness should offer a respite from the heat or a place to hide, but here it doesn’t offer any safety—the killer might be watching Sam while hidden in that darkness. The night and the heat tap into sensory sensations—body and sight—to increase the sense of peril. Sam is sweating, he can’t see, and he’s terrified. 

The closing lines of chapters create momentum and urgency. They don’t merely end chunks of plot, but contribute to the narrative’s pace and energy, building an exciting mystery. Chapters often end by describing what the characters must do in the next chapter, propelling the story forward, rather than resolving conflicts. For example, the final chapters use closing lines to remind the reader that the police are closing in on the killer. Chapter 12 ends with Virgil more hopeful than ever that they’ll catch the murder: “Unless something radical happens, before morning Mr. Wood will arrest the murderer of Enrico Mantoli” (135). In Chapter 13, Ralph is arrested, making for a satisfying payoff, but the closing lines again to leave key questions unanswered, since Ralph’s motive remains a mystery. Withholding the explanation for the murder until the very end makes the ending satisfying, and Ball strategically uses the closing lines of chapters to build to that payoff.