The Big Sleep Essays

  • Marlowe's The Big Sleep

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marlowe has demonstrated his rare behavior throughout several scenes of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. In comparison to all the detectives we have encountered thus far, it is clear that their methodologies were distinct from Marlowe. Marlowe was a detective who was easily influenced and this had a major effect on his case. The detectives that were presented throughout this course were resisted any personal interaction with women, mentally independent regardless of their partner’s help, and had

  • Rain In The Big Sleep

    952 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is a mystery, crime fiction novel from the perspective of the detective Phillip Marlowe. Phillip was hired by a rich general to find out and stop his daughter from being blackmailed over gambling debts. Throughout the novel, there is a link between nature and the mood of the chapter. Rain is generally used to emphasise that it isn’t a happy time or chapter within the novel. The novel is set in Los Angles in the United States and rain is very uncommon there which

  • Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    607 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blackmailing a person often ends in the blackmailer receiving cash from a particular person in order to prevent the release of private information to the public. Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep depicts a wealthy family that hires a private detective in order to take care of a case that involves blackmailing the family to gain money. The author, Chandler, illustrates that people struggling economically will do just about anything to receive money through the conflicts that arise in his novel

  • Compare And Contrast The Big Sleep And Batman

    1820 Words  | 8 Pages

    is evident in the extended texts ‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler and ‘Noughts and crosses’ by Malorie Blackman along with the films ‘The Batman’ by Mat Reeves and ‘Matrix’ directed by the Wachowski sisters. These texts deals with the consequences similar to ‘The Big Sleep’ but are shown in different ways and how it affects them differently. The film ‘Matrix’ directed by the Wachowski sister, deals with similar morals of the protagonists to ‘The Big Sleep.’ Both Chandler and Wachowski’s invites

  • Corruption In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    1247 Words  | 5 Pages

    “What did it matter where you lay once you were dead?” (Chandler, pg. 230). Philip Marlowe, a cunning and sarcastic sleuth, has just pieced together a complex, dangerous crime in Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep. So, why isn’t he satisfied? Why do his final conclusions exude despair and bleak thoughts? Throughout the novel, it is evident that Marlowe feels the ambient corruption that plagues the society he lives in. Any hope or optimism he could have is diminished by his lonely reality. His

  • Comparing The Big Sleep And Devil In A Blue Dress

    1400 Words  | 6 Pages

    Both The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler and Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley depict women as simple characters acting as objects of sex and trouble, existing only to thwart the detective. Chandler does this through Philip Marlowe, a white Hard-Boiled detective who has a very guarded attitude towards women and will not trust them. Mosley depicts women through the point of view of his character Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, an African-American detective, who views white women as objects of misfortune

  • Juxtaposition In The Big Sleep

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘The Big Sleep’ - Hayden Munro The 1940’s film ‘The Big Sleep’ effectively uses time and place to shape the viewer's understanding of corruption as well as gender roles. Masculinity ,femininity and corruption are demonstrated throughout the film providing an insight into this era of the American underworld setting. Corruption is a central theme in ‘The Big Sleep’ which provides viewers an insight into how the 1940’s American setting affects the viewers understanding. Pathetic fallacy is utilized

  • Euphemism In The Big Sleep

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Big Sleep is what many call a “hardboiled” crime novel by author Raymond Chandler. It is the first in his crime novel series to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. The story is renowned for its complexity, with a multitude of characters duping one another whenever the opportunity arises and secrets constantly being exposed throughout the narrative. The title of the novel is a euphemism for death as it is revealed at the ending pages of the book, “You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep…”

  • Portrayals Of Women In The Big Sleep

    502 Words  | 3 Pages

    Portrayals of Women in The Big Sleep In The Big Sleep, women are treated more as objects than human beings. When they are treated like human beings, they are still being viewed as unintelligent, inferior troublemakers who are incapable of doing things for themselves. Often, they are smacked and thrown around like ragdolls and talked down to in a degrading manner. The character of Carmen Sternwood is one of the main female characters portrayed this way. Following the damsel in distress trope, Carmen

  • Persuasive Essay On The Big Sleep

    2014 Words  | 9 Pages

    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”

  • The Big Sleep Gender Roles

    1213 Words  | 5 Pages

    Both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Sign of the Four, and Raymond Chandler’s, The Big Sleep, depict women as passive characters with little agency. Doyle’s novel, introduces character Mary Morstan as a small, “dainty, young lady”, with a “sweet and amiable” expression. The sole purpose of Mary Morstan’s character, is to act as a love interest to Holmes’ sidekick, Watson. Watson endures the conflict of finding a way around his and Mary’s social and financial differences. This romance between Watson

  • Howard Hawk's The Big Sleep

    365 Words  | 2 Pages

    Howard Hawk’s The Big Sleep is one of many films that has taken the crown for best film noir genre. The story is about a private investigator who’s hired by General Sternwood to deal with a blackmailer. Marlowe has to track down the man trying to blackmail Carmen (one of Sternwoods’ wild daughters) over some gambling debts. This is just the beginning for the Marlowe as he is being led deeper into shadows of Los Angeles. Sorry for the spoiler alert but our character isn’t your ordinary hero this world-weary

  • Character Analysis: The Big Sleep

    728 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler, there are many conflicts between two characters that are subtle and do not feel like conflicts, but it is evident they are through his use of similes and metaphors. The scene when Carmen sneaks into Marlow’s apartment and waits for him naked is one of the better examples of these scenes when a subtext battle exists. Chandler first sets up the idea that Marlow is meant to be the knight in shining armor by echoing the earlier scene when Marlow first

  • Marlowe's Loyalty In The Big Sleep

    1005 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, private detective Philip Marlowe is a driven and reliable detective, often going to great lengths to protect his clients. That Marlowe’s loyalty can be purchased for “twenty-dollars dollars a day and expenses”, raises the question of how Marlowe chooses who he is loyal towards (Chandler 113). Perhaps Marlowe believes that he possesses a good moral compass and is capable of judging whether or not a potential client is a good character. It is more likely, however

  • Comparison Of Chandler And Mcbain

    1457 Words  | 6 Pages

    York City (NYC). If there’s one thing that Chandler and McBain share in common, it’s their extraordinary abilities to use weathers, times and environments to render atmospheres, promote plots and deliver symbolisms. By setting their stories in popular big cities, Chandler and McBain allow readers to picture

  • Heart Of Darkness Chapter Summaries

    1018 Words  | 5 Pages

    The novel opens on an overcast morning in mid-October. It is thundering, predicting, something bad like, rain. Philip Marlowe, a tough, distrustful and suspicious of people, yet honest private detective, is hired by the old, ailing General Sternwood to help him "take care of" Arthur Gwynn Geiger, a homosexual who has been, forcing someone to pay money so a secret isn't revealed, the General with possibly pictures of the General's daughter, Carmen Sternwood. Marlowe agrees to the job. Marlowe's first

  • What Happened To Petrofski's The Big Sleep?

    1094 Words  | 5 Pages

    time is wont to do, it marched all over those stunning locks leaving them dry and brittle. Time has no time to wipe its boots. So, while the image of herself in her proverbial mind’s eye remained that of an ingénue coming down the stairs in The Big Sleep, she was actually at the lunch counter in Petrofski’s

  • Corruption In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction The Big Sleep describes a time in America’s past where the social order was decaying into a corrupted mob, ruled by gangsters like those of the 1920s and 30s. Out of this dark rubble, mystery writers at the time imagined their detective knight, a private eye who would uncover the corruption and set order right in the world. Raymond Chandler did just this in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. His knight in not so shining armor was Philip Marlowe, a champion of whoever would hire him. This

  • Interaction Between Marlowe And Mrs. Murdock's Investigation In The High Window

    453 Words  | 2 Pages

    An interesting section in the High Window is the interaction between Marlowe and Mrs. Murdock. This section is important because we find out who stole the coin. We also see Marlowe showing emotions towards Mrs. Murdock he’d never shown before. To keep his client posted Marlowe meets up with Mrs. Murdock to discuss where his investigation stands. Throughout their interaction Marlowe tells Mrs. Murdock that he found George Anson Phillips “shot to death on the floor of his bathroom” (156). This

  • Summary Of Michael Lewis 'The Big Short'

    1191 Words  | 5 Pages

    Michael Lewis’ novel The Big Short examines the build-up of the housing market and the credit bubble during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s which ultimately led up to the financial crisis and the collapse of the housing market from 2007 to 2010. This novel holds an almost dickenesque quality to it with many key players some of whom are heroes and some of whom are villains, all of which play a crucial part within a portion of our history that many people saw as a ‘Doomsday’ of sorts. In order to