Similes in The Big Sleep
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.
Chandler goes into great detail describing the different characters--most notably, the women. There are many sections where the shrewd detective is quick to notice (and make analogous) certain physical features of the Sternwood daughters; not that I blame him. Early in the novel he observes Mrs. Regen's legs in the following manner. "They were visible to the knee and one of them well beyond...The calves were beautiful, the ankles long and slim and with enough melodic line for a tone poem" (17). I think that every guy reading this book perked up when reading of Vivian's legs. In this sexual sense, the similes work. Those long sentences would be much easier to read if there were more comparisons of Vivian's legs to a "melodic line for a tone poem".
Carmen Sternwood is described with profoundness but in a different (less sexual) sense than her sister is. Marlowe encounters her on many occasions and is thorough in describing her--from her first flirtations to her continuous irritations. In t...
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...be something similar to, "It was raining again the next morning, a slanting gray rain like a swung curtain of crystal beads...I was as empty of life as a scarecrow's pockets" (159). There is only so much of that a human being can actually absorb.
And that is precisely why The Big Sleep is a novel that has a hard time coming off as a pleasant reading experience. If the reader has to sift through all the repetition of Marlowe's observations, then it subtracts from the novels overall themes, which I believe are the most captivating parts. Perhaps if it were a short story or if Chandler displayed mercy on our souls by using similes lightly, then the novel would produce a stronger effect.
Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.
Kemp, William. The Writing Process: Chandler 202. January 14, 1999
When dealing with adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD may become a challenge for many parents. Knowing the facts about this disorder and how to treat the problem is the key to a healthy lifestyle for adolescents as well as families. Many therapies and medications are available to families with children with ADHD but many questions that parents have with their children with ADHD is which therapy is best and what would work best with their children and their quality of life. The question of which therapy, alternative versus medication therapy would improve adolescent’s quality of life and behavior modification.
Often, we hear commentary about films that reading the book before watching the movie ruins the experience or that movies are never as good as the book on which it is based. The difference between forms is not as much about already knowing how the story ends as it is about the dumbing down of the work for a broader audience. However, Chandler wrote The Big Sleep as a piece of pulp fiction that was read by a large populace.
The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler’s first novel, served as the kickstarter to the hard-boiled detective fiction genre that his work would eventually come to represent. Philip Marlowe, a private eye on the sketchy side of Los Angeles, dons the archetypal role of a hard-boiled, fast talking hero on the edge of legal and illegal. Marlowe represents a character capable of communication with everyone; from a seedy criminal to a district attorney. The detective is able to converse with even the shadiest of characters as an equal due to his lack of fear, overabundance of confidence, and overall mental toughness. “ Tsk. Tsk.” I said, not moving at all. “Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains. You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail. Put it down and don’t be silly, Joe” (Chandler 79). This kind of calm, collected nature under intense situations is the mental cowboy equivalent to a victory in a shootout in the Old West. Marlowe’s collected presence under high...
At least one in four families in the U.S. is affected by mental illnesses. Unfortunately there is no cure for this range of illnesses, which have been around for thousands of years. Of the American adult population, 5.4 percent have a serious mental illness. These health conditions are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, behavior, or some combination of these. They are also associated with distress and sometimes impaired functioning. In 1990 the total cost of mental health services in the U.S. was $148 billion. According to a new report by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five children suffer from a mental health problem. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is a mental illness that is diagnosed mainly in young children and doesn’t always disappear in adulthood.” All we know is that this genetic, inherited condition [ADHD] is not due to brain damage at all but rather a variation in how the brain functions.” Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes symptoms and characteristics that can be placed in one of three categories: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These characteristics commonly leave a person with ADHD with lack of attention span, easily distracted, fidgety, struggling to stay seated, having trouble engaging in calm activities, impatient, and talking excessively or out of turn. A new study by researchers says that hyperactive children have behavioral differences due to under active parts of their brain, a biological malfunction, rather than due to way they were brought up. This was revealed by a magnetic scanning device that allowed researchers to look at the brains of children diagnosed with ADHD. These studies and statistics reinforce the claim that mental illnesses are not invented simply to justify drugging of children and a disease that needs be educated to the public for better understanding. Rather, ADHD is an illness that affects many people throughout their lives. This topic is often misunderstood by the public. The media and medical community need to educate the positive side of this controversy and not just show the opposing view, which often times misrepresented by the media.
In addition, Theodore uses the figures of speech throughout his poem to impact the reader and his message about the life to death. One of the figures speeches he uses is the metaphors. A major metaphor in "The Waking" is of sleeping and waking up. This is a comparison to living and death which is very important in this poem. Another metaphor is where it says a "lowly worm climbs up a winding stair". This journey for the worm talks about the experiences throughout life. The Author also writes "Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?" This is a metaphor to a higher being called "Light" that takes life away, sometimes without understanding. Another metaphor Roethke uses is of the "shaking". By this, he means the struggles that we all experience
No dearth of similes exists in this book. Sometimes Chandler decorates a page with more than four. They stand out. The similes are the fragrance of the flower. The only circumstance in which no simile can be found on a page is if the page is full of dialogue. Chandler's similes function interestingly in his text &emdash; they seem to be the only art in his concise style. Some of his similes are almost silly, so they really stand out from the casual mood of the text; "his neck stuck up out of [his coat] like a celery stalk" (25). Yet others are beautiful and create very strong images such as those in Chapter Twenty-six when Marlowe is tracking Henry Jones. Marlowe picks a lock and " there was a dry click, like a small icicle breaking.
National Institute of Mental Health (1999). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Retrieved April 2, 2003 from www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#adhd3
It needs to be analyzed what is the root cause of this problem and what in the last few years has caused Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder to rapidly become one of the most frequently observed disorder among children. Children are being observed at homes, schools and various vantage points to check whether they are suffering from such a disorder. Awareness is also increasing about the disorder in order to assist the children and their fa...
The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very commonly known. Today, ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders among children. The NIMH (The national institute of mental health) predicts that it affecting 3 to 5 percent of all children(AACAP), with an approximate amount of 30% to 65% of these children experiencing persistence of symptoms into adolescence and adulthood (AACAP).There are three types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, Predominantly Inattentive Type, and Combination Type(ehow.com). The symptoms of ADHD can be classified into three main categories; hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. These behaviors can interfere with ADHD sufferers’ ability to focus deliberately on organizing and completing a specific task that they may not enjoy. A case of this kind of behavior is recognized in a report written by the National Institute of Mental Health where one of the subjects under study was unable to pass schooling examinations due to her inattentive behavior (clinicaltrials.gov) These kinds of behaviors can damage the person's relationships with others in addition to disrupting their daily life, consuming energy, and diminishing self-esteem, depending on severity of their symptoms (adhd.com). In this paper, the multiple factors of how ADHD affects, and is handled, of those who undergo this disorder, are shown.
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"Some mothers might have encouraged intimacy from motives of interest...and some might have repressed it from motives of prudence...but Mrs. Dashwood was alike uninfluenced by either consideration. It was enough for her that he appeared to be amiable, that he loved her daughter, and that Elinor returned the partiality" (13).
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