Disease And Corruption In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

One night Margo shows up in Quentin's room, and asks him to help her with pranks which involve them getting revenge on all who have done wrong to her. After the night Quentin believes that his relationship is starting to form once again with Margo. But for the next three days Margo doesn't show up to school, Margo has disappeared. Quentin goes on a journey to find her and along the way uses the three traits determination, bravery and acceptance. Quentin shows his determination by skipping his high school graduation and prom to find Margo.

However, on the very next page of the novel, our view of Marlowe is undermined. As the

In “The Big Sleep” Raymond Chandler tells the story of an honest yet cynical detective, Philip Marlowe, hired by a wealthy old man, General Sternwood, to help him “take care of” a pornographer who has been

In Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep, a private detective is trying to unravel a blackmailing case for a dying millionaire, General Sternwood. Philip Marlowe, the detective, finds that the case not only involves blackmail, but also homicide. Set and written in 1930’s America, the economic devastation of the Great Depression has a significant influence on the book’s plot, and showcases character’s struggle to retain honor and virtue in a world that revolves around profit-seeking delinquency and organized corruption. Marlowe’s work as a private detective brings him face to face with criminals of every variety, and each corresponds to a piece on the chessboard that appears repeatedly in the story. Marlowe’s symbolic identity is the well-intentioned knight, who represents the shred of chivalry that remains in a society of pawns and crooked kings, and the chess game is his combat against crime in a period of national despondency.

In The Big Sleep, Chandler portrays Marlowe as the knight in shining armor. This establishes a motif of the stained glass window in General Stern wood’s home in the first chapter of the novel and is an appropriate motif in dictating Marlowe’s knightly role in the novel. The stained glass that is reflected in the novel places Marlowe in the position of the knight as it shows a knight who strives to reach a woman to set her free. The fact that he stares at the glass makes him develop the need to offer assistance. This motif is suitable because it sets the stage for what is to take place in the aftermath when Marlowe rescues Carmen. Secondly, Chandler tries to connect Marlowe with the knightly personality from the beginning of the novel that he intended to name his detective the modern knight and a brave man fighting for General Sternwood. He takes the role of the servant to Sternwood’s lord and therefore, in the knightly terms, it is sufficient to say that Marlowe is striving to find justice. Moreover, he is dedicated to rendering his services in the line of duty with much loyalty and honor despite the sexual and financial temptations that come his way. Like the ancient knights, Marlowe has deeply invested in his personal code of chivalry that contain among others, the need to overcome the sexual temptation of whatever magnitude that comes his way. Lastly, as a representation of the modern-day knight, Marlowe comes out in the novel as a tough detective and a brave individual

Nearly thirty seconds after their first meeting, Carmen tries once again to use this tactic by literally falling into Marlowe’s arms. Even this, however, cannot win Marlowe’s praise. Marlowe quite obviously prefers a capable girl rather than one who literally cannot stand up for herself. Carmen’s own relative weakness resurfaces itself throughout the novel. She “sucks her thumb and looks coy” whenever she gets in trouble, relying solely on her appearance and girlish charm (Chandler 5).

In the books The Big Sleep and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, both authors, Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) and Simon Armitage (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), create the protagonist of each story into archetypal knights. The protagonist of The Big Sleep is named Phillip Marlowe and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the protagonist is named Sir Gawain. The 3 knightly qualities that we will be focusing on in this essay are self-sacrifice, loyalty and courage. These qualities are displayed throughout each story in different and similar ways throughout each book.

The impression the reader gathers about Carmen from the first conversation she has with Marlowe and the description is that she is immature and very childlike. Contrary to the description of Carmen, Marlowe's description of Mrs. Regan's is one which allows the reader to see she is a more sophisticated and intelligent woman

To analyze the impact of women in the picture, one must examine Philip Marlowe, the hero and epitome of masculinity. Throughout the novel, Marlowe displays the admirable qualities of a man: intelligence, strength and justice. Additionally, Marlowe’s role as the hero of the film creates an example to which all men should strive. He represents the goals and desires of men, and as such his behavior helps define the position of women. Women constantly throw themselves at Marlowe, allowing him to pick from a fairly wide selection. His choice of Vivian holds considerable weight in determining the traits that make a woman popular. Marlowe’s interactions with all women help reveal the complexities of 1940s feminine attraction.

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

This metaphorically

Don Quixote is a character who read so many books on chivalry, he 'was so absorbed in these books that his nights were spent reading from dusk till dawn…until the lack of sleep and the excess of reading withered his brain, and he went mad'(Cervantes p.26). 'considering it desirable and necessary, both for the increase of his honour and for the common good [he becomes] a knight errant'

Geoffrey Chaucer’s romantic poem “The Knight’s Tale” chronicles the adventures of two ancient Greek knights and their quest to win the affection of Emily, a beautiful noblewoman. Bound to uphold the chivalric code of loyalty and honor of the time, Palamon and Arcite discover themselves at odds with their noble ideals as they battle one another in pursuit of love. Unable to reconcile the knight’s oath of honor with their obsessive and selfish desires, the actions of Chaucer’s main characters fail to uphold the basic principles of chivalry.

Through viewing scenes where Marlowe is beaten up and tied up by Mars' men, we come to realize the strength of Marlowe's integrity and will. Although he is put through much physical pain as well as the mental pain of witnessing horrific acts, he bites the bullet and commits himself completely to the tasks placed before him. Once again, he does not do his task for the small amounts of money, but he does it because he feels it is what he must do.