The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler exploits the corruption and the absence of justice that was present in the 1930s. The novel is set in Los Angeles, which at the time was full of scheming city workers. The combination of dynamic and static characters in the story leads the reader into a whirlwind of murders that are unavenged. “Good-guy” detective Phillip Marlowe, is seen as a modern-day knight, left to slay the dragon and rescue the damsel in distress. However, the inexplicable amount of “dragons” that Chandler presents in the novel hinder Marlowe from being able to accomplish his goals without obstacles. Chandler produces the classic detective novel through his use of conniving criminals, corrupt police, and characters that are slighted by the actions of those in their lives.
The novels chief detective, Philip Marlowe, is unable to eliminate every criminal that crosses his path, much to his dismay. Although most of the offenders are apparent from the beginning of the novel, some are not revealed until towards the end. Consider mob boss Eddie Mars; well known by the police officers, along with his hitman Canino, yet no one seems to do anything about it. The absence of action is not a result of ineptitude; it is merely from the mob having control over everything, spanning from bootlegging to covering up murders. “But Chandler did more than use Mars ' character as a unifying thread; he also increased his importance by shifting the moral responsibility” (Rabinowitz 1). For