Who Is Geiger's Role In The Big Sleep

The Production Code attempted to censor sex and violence in film of the 1930's and 40's. Instead of impairing, it encouraged directors to use artistic ideas and integrity to surpass the viewers' expectations -- actively involving them in the film despite Hollywood's censorship. Howard Hawks is one such director who used the restrictions of the Production Code to his advantage. His screen adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel The Big Sleep portrays the same amount of sexuality and violence apparent in the written word, using a distinctly subtle style, which develops broader themes. Comparisons with the extremely dull 70's remake by Michael Winner further suggest the superiority

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.

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.

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

Grant and Vivian’s characters in A Lesson Before Dying are very similar yet very different. Grant came from a more harsh and direct family, with broad goals. Vivian came from a more loving and easy going family with specific goals. As Grant’s girlfriend, Vivian has never met any of Grant’s family before so she’s very nervous. Grant’s family aren’t the easiest people do like, and Vivian will do whatever it takes to get their approval of herself.

Initially, the audience see Vivian as a person who is very uncompromising. The students she taught knew her as harsh, making her an unfavorable teacher. She appeared to not care about the students she taught, and her coldheartedness was reflected in her actions, an example being when one of her students tried to receive an extension on a paper because of the recent death of her grandmother, at this request Vivian concluded “ Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due.” This impenetrable exterior that Vivian places upon herself discourages the formation of beneficial relationships from being formed in her

Philip Marlowe, a private detective. Tall, dark, and rugged, with a poker face and a quick wit, he is attractive to women but wary of them and of all entanglements. Though cynical and hard-boiled, and a heavy drinker capable of violence, Marlowe is idealistic, even puritanical. Contemptuous of money, he is an honest loner in a corrupt

Vivian is Grant’s beautiful, passionate, and smart girlfriend. She teaches at a black Catholic school in Bayonne. During the book she is married, but separated from her husband, so her relationship with Grant is kept a secret. She has two small children with her husband. Vivian loves Grant but often distrusts him because of his lack of loyalty to his people and hometown.

These characters are round characters because they change and they gain more which leads them to develop during the novel. For example, Lisel adapting to the family and they take her in. Two examples of flat characters are Werner, her little

Vivian recalls undergoing tests by various medical technicians and being the subject of grand rounds. She remembers sharing a love of language and books with her father. She flashes back to her experiences as a student of Dr E. M. Ashford, an expert on John Donne. Bearing later finds herself under the care of Dr Jason Posner, an oncology research fellow who has taken her class on John Donne. At the hospital, she recognizes that doctors are interested in her for her research value and, like her, tend to ignore humanity in favor of knowledge. Gradually, she realizes that she would prefer kindness to

    Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.

   Unique writing style is definitely an essential element in any piece of writing, and Raymond Chandler uses his style efficiently in The Big Sleep. Chandler's style is one that seems to come easily to him and it also seems very natural to the reader, perhaps because there is not a lot of high, eloquent language. Rich in description and dialogue, the characters seem more realistic to the reader as a result of such details and natural speech. Chandler includes many descriptive words, similes, metaphors; yet they are not complicated or ambiguous which may lead to misinterpretations. He also tends to focus on a few major aspects of the characters, repeating those

As the novel progresses, Vivian reveals more of her complex character and distinctive ability. Vivian’s plots are complexly woven, and her lies have a direct purpose: to protect Carmen. She even has a strong sense of fairness, holding up her end of Eddie Mars’s deal and upholding Marlowe’s moral standards. Later on in the novel, Vivian maintains her initial struggle for independence, but begins to succumb to Marlowe’s overpowering strength and ability.

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 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,