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Reality vs. Fantasy in a modern world
Reality vs. Fantasy in a modern world
Reality vs. Fantasy in a modern world
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Detective stories are closely linked with mystery and investigation. One must use clues and intuition to put pieces of a puzzle together for their case. Similarly, solving a case is like knowing a person. A dubious, shady, and secretive person is hard to get to know. In order to find out who they really are, one must closely examine their life. A person that exemplifies this, is RaymondChandler. Chandler was one of the leading writers of hard-boiled detective fiction in his time period. He was an outsider that rose to become very influential to his genre. Although he was not too well known, his later works were reflective upon his actual life. His protagonist Detective stories are closely linked with mystery and investigation. One must use clues and intuition to put pieces of a puzzle together for their case. Similarly, solving a case is like knowing a person. A dubious, shady, and secretive person is hard to get to know. In order to find out who they really are, one must closely examine their life. A person that exemplifies this, is Raymond even resembled himself. Raymond Chandler’s chivalrous personality and his perceptive views of social corruption influenced the creation of his character Philip Marlowe.
Early to Middle Years and Values
Raymond Chandler was born on July 23, 1888. Initially, he was born in the United States but his father abandoned him at an early age. He was raised by his mother in Ireland and England because she wanted the best education for him (Marling). He went to school at Dulwhich and was a very good student. The students were taught the code of honor at a young age. This code of honor was something that he never forgot and he treasured it (Marling). In schooling at Dulwhich, Chandler developed skills i...
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Works Cited
Linder, Daniel. “Chandler’s ‘The Big Sleep’”. The Explicator 59.3 (2001): 137.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 March 2014. http://go.galegroup.com
Marling, William. "Raymond Chandler." Detnovel.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
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Moss, Robert F. “Raymond (Thorton) Chandler””. America Hard-Boiled Crime Writers.
Ed. George Parker Anderson and Julie B. Anderson. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000.
Dictionary of Literary Biography vol. 226. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3
Feb. 2014. http://go.galegroup.com
Speir, Jerry. Raymond Chandler. New York: Ungar, 1981. Print.
Watt, R.J.C. “The Big Sleep: Overview”. Reference Guide to American Literature.
Ed. Jim Kamp. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center.
Web. 3. Mar. 2014. http://go.galegroup.com
A composer’s construction of distinctive voices in a text plays a crucial role in portraying how life experiences shape an individual’s identity, world view and response to their environment and others. It is through the careful selection of language techniques that composers represent how individuals respond to life experiences, thereby positioning the responder to think about the significant issues of the world, as it can shape the individual’s perception, persona and interpretation. Both Merele Day’s 1990’s detective fiction nobel ‘The life and Crimes of Harry Lavender’ and the 1980’s poem ‘Stealing’ by Carol Ann Duffy confronts us with various characters related with crime giving us an intuition into the motivation and perspectives of unique individuals. Day presents both Claudia Valentine, a subverted representation of the hardboiled detective and also Harry Lavender a typical criminal mastermind. Likewise Duffy presents an ambiguous individual who glamourises criminal acts against society. Eventually expressions within the two texts ensure that readers understand the actions taken by each protagonist.
Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon, is a hard-boiled detective novel; a subset of the mystery genre. Before the appearance of this sub-genre, mystery novels were mainly dominated by unrealistic cases and detectives like Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. As Malmgren states, “The murders in these stories are implausibly motivated, the plots completely artificial, and the characters pathetically two-dimensional, puppets and cardboard lovers, and paper mache villains and detectives of exquisite and impossible gentility.” (Malmgren, 371) On the other hand, Hammett tried to write realistic mystery fiction – the “hard-boiled” genre.
In the library he would read the magazines and the books and one day after reading several detective yarns he said, ‘I can do that.’ The truth is, he could. And he did. He wrote for Black Mask, a pulp detective magazine, and then as his skills increased he began to write novels. It was in this library that Dashiell Hammett saw his future. (79)
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
Raymond Lewis was born on October 8, 1910 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was the youngest son of Cornelius Lewis and Emma Green. Living in that era, Lewis faced racism in many forms, such as kids his age calling him names, or teachers treating him poorly because of his skin colour. While this may have been upsetting and demotivating for most, for Ray it was actually helpful, as all the negativity just motivated him to do better and work harder. Apart from that, he was also known as “Rapid” Ray Lewis, as he could outrun anyone his age. From that moment, anyone knew that he would outshine his peers in the future.
How can I humble myself? I can write about Raymond Chandler's style. I am amazed that someone can write with a style that appears to be almost effortless. No, it seems completely effortless. Breezing through this book is very easy. There are no seams. Chandler's "no buts about it," "hard-boiled" style, characters and story are completely cohesive. All elements seem perfectly placed. The narrator and interesting use of figurative language contribute to the unity in the text.
On first inspection of Raymond Chandler's novel, The Big Sleep, the reader discovers that the story unravels quickly through the narrative voice of Philip Marlowe, the detective hired by the Sternwood family of Los Angeles to solve a mystery for them. The mystery concerns the General Sternwood's young daughter, and a one Mr. A. G. Geiger. Upon digging for the answer to this puzzle placed before Marlowe for a mere fee of $25 dollars a day plus expenses, Marlowe soon finds layers upon layers of mystifying events tangled in the already mysterious web of lies and deception concerning the Sternwood family, especially the two young daughters.
Mysteries have always held great fascination for the human mind, not least because of the aura that surrounds them and the realm of the Unknown into which they delve. Coupled with the human propensity of being particularly curious about aspects which elude the average mind, the layer of intrigue that glosses over such puzzles makes for a heady combination of the literary and the popular. In the canon of detective fiction worldwide, no detective has tickled the curious reader’s imagination and held it in thrall as much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The 221-B, Baker Street, London ‘amateur’ detective combines a rare blend of intellectual prowess and sharp wit to crack a series of baffling riddles.
The unnamed narrator of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” poses as an unreliable narrator for his unaccepting nature towards blind people along with his ignorant perception of many realities in his life that Carver presents for the reader to take into question. The narrator holds prejudice against Robert, a blind man whom the narrator’s wife worked with ten years earlier and eventually befriends. Unperceptive to many of the actualities in his own life, the narrator paints an inaccurate picture of Robert that he will soon find to be far from the truth.
It is very interesting to note how the conventions of 1940’s hardboiled private eye fiction translate into the 1970’s. The low-rent drabness of the genre loses much of its allure. The dark shadows and long nights of urban Los Angeles become the bright lights and warm sunshine of Malibu beaches. The detective’s normally snappy dialogue turns into joking asides. Marlowe’s hardboiled narration becomes the self-conscious mutterings of a lonely man talking to himself. The romantic myth of a man set apart from the city is turned on its head as a pathetic man living alone with his cat.
It appears that Raymond is at the stage in his life where egocentrism is basically a natural part of life and somewhat benefit him (Feldman, 225). He only focuses on interaction with himself and does not consider the many thing concerning others. His environment and how he interacts with it results in a reaction that reflect part of his learning. Despite the neighbors being upset about his musical instrument he does not care. This is because children at this stage develop the feelings of concern about others and their emotion sometimes later in their life naturally. At this stage, children usually struggle and do not comprehend the concept of thinking from others perspective. However, Raymond will understand why his mother feels the way she does, and why his mother’s boyfriend is annoyed later in his life. Otherwise at this moment Raymond knows that his routine and the things that he loves to do
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
In Short Cuts, by Raymond Carver, characters experience trials and problems in their lives, whether extreme such as in " A Small, Good Thing" and "Lemonade" or nominal such as in " Vitamins". They all seem to depict these struggles as uphill battles which the characters cannot and mostly do not overcome. The characters throughout Carver's "Short Cuts" struggle through their lives in private desperation, often to ultimately realize that they are bound to the truth of who they really are, which is shown in the story "Neighbors."
Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous fictional characters in literary history is a detective capable of solving the most complex mysteries. The author behind the character, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a very successful British writer. The majority of his literary success is due to his crime-fiction tales such as the Sherlock Holmes series. However, Mr. Doyle and Mr. Holmes himself must not take all the credit because there is another character that plays a major role in the stories success. He goes by the name of Dr. Watson, Holmes’ sidekick. The importance of Dr. Watson is evident in many of Doyle’s stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia and A Study in Scarlett.
Numerous authors have written many stories and books using the same detective. By using a familiar character, it helps to draw readers back to reading these stories. Look at the Rex Stout fans, these people go to the extreme of following the detectives, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Obviously Stout was doing something right in using the same characters over and over again in his stories. Conan Doyle had the same allure with Sherlock Holmes. The exact replicas of Holmes’s home, and the 3-D renderings of Nero Wolfe’s house, are perfect examples of readers/fans becoming totally engrossed with theses stories. Because readers became familiar, and enjoyed these characters so much, they continue to read stories about the characters.