Independent Reading Assignment: The Big Sleep By Raymond Chandler

The idea of heroism is a common motif in Noir literature; one that dominates the characterization of the traditional hard-boiled detective. This remains constant in Raymond Chandler’s novel, The Big Sleep, in which Philip Marlowe is hired to investigate the blackmail of a rich man with two troublesome, fun-loving daughters. As Marlowe gains more information throughout the course of his investigation, he becomes closer with the daughters, Vivian and Carmen Sternwood, and learns many dirty secrets about the family and people close to them. This becomes as much of an exploration of the exploitation of General Sternwood, as much as it is an exploration of Marlowe himself and his role in life. Throughout the course of the novel, Marlowe’s attempts

The Big Sleep is taken place in Los Angeles during the Great Depression, which was a time of corruption and economic turmoil. The novel’s themes are primarily the desperation during the Great Depression and the corruption of American Society. A majority of the characters in the book are criminals of some sort, committing crimes for money. Raymond Chandler, the novel’s author, uses allusions, comparisons, and symbolism to help understand the themes of society. Chandler is able to emphasize the corruption of society and the evils within it using motifs, symbols and figurative language.

During the dawn of the Second World War, a new era began for women across America. As men departed to fight the war, women were left to fill their void in the workplace. Familiar role models such as “Rosie the Riveter” radiated strength and know-how traits historically emphasized only in men. As woman’s role in society broadened, new visions of attractiveness developed to accommodate this unprecedented aspect of femininity. Raymond Chandler’s portrayal of women in The Big Sleep (1939) highlights these changes in social construction of female sexuality and appeal in the setting of a male dominated society.

Night by Elie Wiesel was one of the best books I have ever read. Night is the story about Elie’s horrible time spent in Auschwitz and Buna the death camps. This story impacted me the most because all of this is real. Elie’s mother and sister were murdered as soon as they arrived. The story goes on telling his unimaginable experiences with his father in 1944 during the Holocaust.

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.

One evening, Henry Spearman made to choice to indulge in a hike, one of the many activities that he enjoyed. As he walked on he saw the Justice Foote, who was on a jog, and let him pass by. A few minutes later, Spearman found his body on the trail and he had experienced blunt trauma to the head. Prior to Foote’s murder, he had been made aware that he was the new Target. Detective Vincent, after a few hours of interrogation, knew that the murders were LeMans and Harbley. They had confessed to the murders after the interrogation.

Initially, Mrs. Mallard reacts with great sadness over the news of her husband’s death. Knowing that Mrs. Mallard suffers from “heart trouble”, Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister decides to “hint” her the news of Brently’s death in “broken sentences”. Josephine assumes that Mrs. Mallard “[loves]” her husband, and naturally

We then began thinking more specifically by looking at how much sleep on average freshmen, sophomore, junior and seniors get per night

Raymond Chandler, author of the novel the "The Big Sleep", was able to obtain the title of his book by how he used the characters to give a comprehensive plot. The title of this novel was a metaphor to speak about death in a more light way and to have a deeper meaning to it as the characters shown in the novel. The question of mortality is seen on every page of this novel, the title itself means death as it talks about a prolonged, deep, almost unending slumber. It alludes to rumination in the last pages of the book about "resting the big sleep".

The two films of the week Chinatown and The Big Sleep are noir films. The Big Sleep is a classical noir film and Chinatown is a neo Noir film. Both of them share similar

   In response to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, I have just one question. Why all the similes? There isn't a single page in the novel that doesn't display this annoying literary device. Everything is "like this" or "like that." It never ends! Similar to decoding a secret message that isn't difficult to understand, but nevertheless tiring due to the overwhelming amount of messages, the novel is frustrating to read. The following analysis acknowledges Chandler's creativity in developing his main character, Philip Marlowe, with his usage of simile. However, the excessive style of the novel creates a dominating force that ultimately leaves the reader unfulfilled at the end.

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.

The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946) uses mostly restricted narration, perceptual subjectivity, and the lack of mental subjectivity to show the strength of Marlow’s (Humphrey Bogart) loyalty towards Vivian (Lauren Bacall) and General Sternwood (Charles Waldren).

The novel “The Big Sleep” by Raymond Chandler was published in 1939 during the heart of the Great Depression. The novel is written in a very sinister, dark and kind of a gangster tone and carries much of the cynicism of 1930s America. The Big Sleep is a story of intrigue, corruption, delinquency and obliquity with a rather complex plot which can be very confusing. The main character in “the Big Sleep” is the private detective Philip Marlow who is very masculine man with values and a good moral. His strong moral is often evidenced throughout the novel. Marlowe is the only one in this complex world who cannot be corrupted because the other characters are all described as sleazy,

Insomnia affects almost half of adults living in America. (# 8, 2012) This is a shared sleeping disorder that many people across the universe are diagnosed with. Several causes of insomnia include exercising too much, stress, withdrawal from alcohol or a certain drug, physical circumstances, and diseases. People with insomnia usually have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, which causes people to have poor-quality sleep, which will affect their mood, energy, and productiveness for the next day. (MediLexicon, Intl., 2012) More symptoms of insomnia include waking up earlier than needed, having trouble falling back asleep, and being in a bad mood the following day. Insomnia can cause many more problems such as weight