The Big Sleep: Movie vs. Novel Essay

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.

Children today have access to many forms of literature, some of which are books made into movies. As the children become older, comments such as “the book was way better” or “the movie didn’t even come close to matching the book” or “the movie and book are the exact same, so save time and just watch the movie” are heard once children begin to make connections between the book and the film. It is important to me, as a future teacher, to be able to address such comments from my students and, in turn, help them understand why and how movies can either help or hinder the book’s original value and message. To help me prepare, I will compare a children’s film to the literary work that came from it.

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.

Movies have the ability to transport people to different times and places and distract them from ordinary everyday reality. They allow for a range of emotions to be experienced. At their core, movies examine the human condition. There are plenty of deeper truths woven into screenplays and plenty of lessons to be learned, even when an individual is solely seeking entertainment.

Although the best reasons for “going to the movies” are to be entertained and eat popcorn, understanding a film is actually quite complex. Movies are not only a reflection of life, they also have the capability of shaping our norms, values, attitudes, and perception of life. Through the media of film, one can find stories of practically anything imaginable and some things unimaginable. Movie-makers use their art to entertain, to promote political agendas, to educate, and to present life as it is, was, or could be. They can present truth, truth as they interpret it, or simply ignore truth altogether. A movie can be a work of fiction, non-fiction, or anything in-between. A film is an artist’s interpretation. What one takes away from a film depends upon how one interprets what has been seen and heard. Understanding film is indeed difficult.

Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.

“The biggest mistake we have made is to consider that films are primarily a form of entertainment. The film is the greatest medium since the invention of movable type for exchanging ideas and information, and it is no more at its best in light entertainment than literature is at its best in the light novel.” - Orson Welles

Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the

No other film was as controlled in its production as The Big Sleep. Every aspect of the film is so precise, that the filmmakers left nothing to chance. Every set was built inside, with the exception of a few exterior shots. The Big Sleep is a very visually interesting film that uses quick and precise cutting, harsh lighting, and wonderfully framed shots.

Behind every great movie, comes a storyline that is derived from a book however, most of the books to the movies have a great number of deviations. The screenwriters and other staff members to include the director come up with these deviations to enhance the plot in the attempt to make it a more interesting film to which in turn can make a better profit. The majority of differences that is found in films main objective is to enhance the mind. For example, when a scene has the ability to get a particular feeling out of a viewer, it is imperative to be able to understand the reasons for those feelings. The dialog and the visual effects of a scene sets a tone that differs from that of the book that it was taken from. Also, screen writers and

The producers will develop a test and the audience will tell the producers whether it is something they want to see or they are not going to see. This can affect the next text to be produced in an attempt to conform to the audience demands. Looking at the development of different types of genres and the development of films within the same genre, it’s possible to look at similarities and differences and identify changes in society and audience ideologies and tastes.

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

"The Big Sleep" is a fast paced mystery novel work in which the famous detective has to get back his great gifts of research. It is not just the researcher, Raymond Chandler rather, its creator.

Literature can, at times, have a fascinating connection with film. Whether it is a film or a piece of literature, both are written by someone that wants to leave an impact on an audience. However, movies and books have different roles. They each have different strong points wherein books give better characterization, stronger revelations, and inner conflict, but movies create a better mood with music and visuals, showing much more emotion. It's a totally different kind of experience, of course, and there are a number of differences between the book and the movie. The novel of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke, for example, attempts to explain things much more explicitly than the film does, which is inevitable in a verbal medium. The movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, on the other hand, is essentially a visual, nonverbal experience. It avoids intellectual verbalization and reaches the viewer's subconscious in a way that is essentially poetic and philosophic. The film thus becomes a subjective experience, which hits the viewer at an inner level of consciousness, just as music does, or painting. Utilizing its verbal medium, Clarke is able to explain his narrative, whereas Kubrick creates a visual and audial experience, through means of ambiguity, in which the viewer sees everything, is told nothing, and in which one cannot detect the presence of the film as one at all.

Whether you fancy reading a book or watching a film, whether you consider yourself a bookworm or a movie enthusiast, or perhaps both or even something else entirely; there is bound to be something suitable for your tastes and preferences. In our day and age, many books often get adapted into films. This change of discourse undoubtedly affects the way we perceive the piece. An example for a book that has been adapted into a movie is the young adult novel “The Fault in Our Stars” by American author John Green.