The Long Goodbye, along with Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, is a hard-boiled detective novel that has a slower paced plot, which reveals Chandler’s own life as a material. He focuses on Marlowe’s voice, but also his views of the society, the flaws of the characters, and the corrupt world. Marlowe’s life is full of corruption, which also reflects the cruel world. Marlowe is contradictory to Doyle’s Holmes or Poe’s Dupin, because the crimes are not puzzles or conclusive. Holmes was great at scanning a room and figuring out the crime scene, but Marlowe faces crimes with violence and pain.
Chandler located many of his novels in Los Angeles, because it portrayed the worst qualities of the American society during his time. Similarly, Hammett’s novels are frequently located in San Francisco and also in Southern California. Their hard-boiled novels are not about solving the crime like a puzzle, but focus on how the protagonist reveals about the corruption
…show more content…
He shared his views of the brutal world and the worries of the emerging American society in the 1940s and 1950s through the violence and pain Marlowe experiences, and also reflects the emotional stress and sadness of his dying wife on the characters.. Moreover, the characters reflect Chandler himself. Roger Wade highlights Chandler’s alcoholism and his worries about his future writing career. Wade aspired to be recognized as a serious writer, and worried about his work’s reputation. Terry Lennox is also similar to Chandler, because Lennox is an alcoholic, and also had emotional scars from experiencing the war.
In conclusion, The Long Goodbye and The Maltese Falcon are both hard-boiled detective novels that reflect violence, pain and corruption in society. Moreover, the characters reflect the author’s flaws, and Marlowe’s life is full of corruption, which also reflects the brutal and painful