Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the plot of "The Big Sleep" which revolves around blackmail and murder, does not strictly adhere to the old mystery tradition of solving the problems in logic and deduction but rather deals with the psychological complexities of people who exist in an underground, liminal world and for whom life is more of a burden than a gift. The author points out what stands out above the rottenness is the profound sense of helplessness and hopelessness which pervades the lives of most of the characters, including detective Philip Marlowe, who comes off with a brash air of conceited self-confidence and an equally loud aura of indifference. The paper suggests that Marlowe's character is the embodiment of Chandler's essential message: Hope to divert disaster, even when you shouldn't be bothered to care and even when no one else seems to care but you.

From the Paper:

"Chandler describes his goal in creating Philip Marlowe to be that he is "the hero, he is everything...a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man...a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability...a lonely man." Oates, on the other hand, describes him as "a cult figure of enviable sexual allure," whose primary appeal to the reader is that he is every man's "wish-fulfillment fantasy," and in turn the "essence of virility" for every woman. Yet this assumption carries a dissonant note. Chandler's obvious downplaying of Marlowe's personal sexuality is more likely intended to steer the reader to the greater nature of his quest: the search for integrity among the living who inhabit this strange, cruel, dispassionate world of 1930s Los Angeles."

Visitors who viewed this Analytical Essay also liked these:

• Analytical Essay # 135363 : "The Big Sleep" and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
• Book Review # 98190 : "The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)"
• Film Review # 84195 : "Film Noir and 'The Big Sleep' "

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: