Raymond Chandler’s novel, The Big Sleep, is well-versed in descriptive language and makes one feel as though they are experiencing the occurred events firsthand. Through Philip Marlowe’s perspective the novel progresses in a manner that answers some questions of the mystery; however, as the truth unravels one realizes that not everything will be completely resolved. Through the usage of imagery, euphemism, and symbolism Chandler crafts an ending that solves the mystery, but creates a whole new one. Without a doubt, Chandler employs imagery to get a deep sense of suspense and thrill behind the mystery, especially in the ending where imagery has a significant role in unfolding the truth. An example would be when Marlowe describes how Carmen’s …show more content…
With this euphemism Chandler is stating that death has no privileges because it is a symbol for equality; therefore no matter where you come from or who you are, you will eventually die. “What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that” (Chandler 139). The author uses the euphemism of the big sleep in reference to death in order to give death a less abrasive meaning. By doing so, Chandler implies that death is a natural occurrence and human beings have no control over it; therefore we must stop making such a big fuss over death and just accept the fact that it will happen. Likewise, Waldie utilizes the altitude of where one lives in Los Angeles as symbol for social standing. “If you live high, you share history and hydrology with the city 's well-to-do Anglo ascendancy. If you live low, your house and your neighborhood are in some former bed of the river” (Waldie 51). The author conveys that where you live topographically in LA defines where you will stand socially. If you live up high in the mountains away from the Los Angeles River then you are of a higher socioeconomic class; however, if you live low near the river then you are of a lower socioeconomic class. Of course, in The Big Sleep the Sternwoods live in mansion high above the sumps that made the family rich. What Chandler is overall implying is that little things like where you live in LA are important in defining who you are in life, but they won’t matter once you are dead. Everyone has the same fate and no societal norms can make a
The ability to make the reader immersed in the story and the main character is the best thing to have when writing a piece. It helps the reader decide whether to keep reading or not. This ability is known as imagery. Imagery is writing with metaphors and the five sense, which creates a scene for the reader. Imagery is basically the way the author shows the reader what the main character or narrator is seeing. Janet Burroway, author of “Imaginative Writing”, which is a book about writing and the components of it, states that Image is, “An image is a word or series of words that evokes one or more of the five senses.” (Burroway, 15) Imagery is very important and good authors know how to use it to add more meaning and power to their literature.
"Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains!" is a memorable line of Humphrey Bogart's Philip Marlowe in the 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep (The Big Sleep). That one quote encapsulates the presence of corruption, violence and even class distinction that is characteristic of film noir and the hard-boiled detective genre. The novel and the film both focus on Philip Marlowe, a private detective, during his investigative process. While the main plot remains the same, changes were made regarding the portrayals of characters, including Marlowe, likely in response to consideration of the audience and intent of the film. However, the setting was further developed through the
“The Sleeper” uses Greek and Latin mythology to enhance the poem. This gives readers a tremendous level of insight on this poem. This helps readers perceive: how Irene had lived and died, what the griever is feeling, what the griever is trying to say and do, and grasp the underlying Greek and Latin lore. Because of the writing of Edgar Allan Poe, “The Sleeper” was written in dark romanticism and adds a supplementary twist to the mythologies.
Imagery has been used by William Faulkner to create parallels that strengthen the themes of the story. The imagery is used as a tool to appeal to the reader to convey the authors purpose.
Author James Thurber’s use of imagery greatly enhanced the characterization, whereas Vonnegut’s use was lacking. This is because the imagery used in Thurber’s story directly connected to the characters, unlike Vonnegut’s use which seemed incomplete. An example of Vonnegut’s inadequate imagery would be this quote: “A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.” (Vonnegut 1) In contrast to that, here is an exemplary use of imagery from Thurber’s story: “Then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.” (Thurber 3) Both of these quotes are examples of imagery, however Thurber’s passage prevails in terms of effectiveness.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, symbolism is prominent in both. Authors use symbolism to connect emotion with different things throughout literature.
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.
There was no sleep in store for me that night. I was tormented by my own demons. I was agonized by the thought of blank Thursdays. Discomfort held hands with the black of night, and the black of night greeted me with a sour embrace.
Money talks, sex talks, and lots of violence.. When someone tells you to think of the present world they really don 't think about what Raymond Chandler brings up in the big sleep. The values and believes in 1930 or completely different than our present-day values beliefs and attitudes. Yes there might be a slight similarity but for the most part there is many differences in our time today. Into his book the big sleep many different types of themes are brought up. Wealth, violence, sexuality, and much more. Yes we do live in a time of wealth, violence, and a world with sexuality. The difference here between present day and passed in 1930, is that back then it was a whole different type of principles put into it. So that being said, in 1930
Verano used imagery in this book to help the readers understand what all of this looks like. She says “ It covered the neighborhood, but not the fields behind the house, which are still green. And it doesn't sparkle. Turns out it's not snow but cottonwood fluff.” This gave me an image of what the cottonwood actually looked like. She wants to give an idea about Paige's feelings and so that the reader can know what she is going through and it's like you're stepping into the characters shoes. She wants the readers to have an escape from reality and feel like you're IN her book, like your Page and YOU'RE going through what she
Imagery is a key part of any poem or literary piece and creates an illustration in the mind of the reader by using descriptive and vivid language. Olds creates a vibrant mental picture of the couple’s surroundings, “the red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood/ the
A good example of imagery can be found at the end of the story in the last paragraph. For this part of imagery, the main character Jackson Jackson has received his grandmother’s regalia from the pawn shop employee without having to pay the total of $999 he originally had to pay. (Alexie) “I took my grandmother’s regalia and walked outside. I knew that solitary yellow bead was part of me. I knew I was that yellow bead in part. Outside, I wrapped myself in my grandmother’s regalia and breathed her in. I stepped off the sidewalk and into the intersection. Pedestrians stopped. Cars stopped. The city stopped. They all watched me dance with my grandmother. I was my grandmother, dancing.” This statement made at the end of the story indicates a strong sense of imagery that details Jackson’s emotions towards getting his grandmother’s regalia from the pawn shop. The yellow bead he mentions was his strongest symbol of feeling toward his grandmother, feeling as if he were a part of that yellow bead, in this case, his grandmother. Jackson describes in more detail of how he felt more like his grandmother after he wrapped the regalia around him. The pedestrians, city, everything around him was watching him feel like his grandmother, like some sort of flashback he could be
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America’s most celebrated classical authors, known for his unique dealings within the horror genre. Poe was a master at utilizing literary devices such as point of view and setting to enhance the mood and plot of his stories leading to his widespread appeal that remains intact to this day. His mastery of aforementioned devices is evident in two of his shorter works “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.
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.
Robert Cormier's psychological thriller In the Middle of the Night takes us on a mysterious journey of revenge; he explores the minds of characters with monstrous thoughts. Orphaned children Lulu and her young brother David were severely injured at a magic show in the Globe Theater on Halloween night when a balcony collapsed upon them. Although Lulu was revived, she dies a spiritual death. She now dedicates her life to revenge on John Paul, the usher who she believes caused the accident of her death. The story shows us that all humans are capable of monstrous behavior.