Essay on "Death by Hollywood" by Steven Bochco, a Study in Dramatic Irony

Essay on Death by Hollywood by Steven Bochco Student: Eric Kasum Advisor: Rachel Pollack Goddard College February 21, 2004 - Winter/Spring Death by Hollywood, a novel by Steven Bochco, is a study in the use of irony. Unfortunately, the legendary creator of cop shows like Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law probably shouldn't have tried to write a novel. Death is a strange book to read, with almost no literary devices, virtually no visual or …

…up. Jelko tells us that he's placing the manuscript in a safe deposit box - to be released only in the event of his death. The guy who's been telling us the story all this time (in present tense), our narrator Eddie Jelko, is already dead, six feet under in a pine box. On the last few words of the last page, we discover that, alas, we never even suspected the biggest secret of all.