Philip Marlowe Essays

  • Philip Marlowe Quotes Analysis

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    Detective Philip Marlowe from Raymond Chandler’s ‘Red Wind, pivotal to understanding Red Wind not only because he is the main protagonist but because he is the narrator of this work, so grasping the way he conducts himself will create a clear understanding of Red Wind as a whole. In particular, a major concept to grasp is “What’s Philip Marlowe’s moral code? However, comparing moral codes in general is redundant when discussing what’s Philip Marlowe’s moral code is. Instead, it is important when

  • Marlowe Exposed In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chandler’s well known detective, Philip Marlowe, is classically synonymous with the subgenre of hard-boiled fiction. Marlowe is an independent private investigator hired to “snoop” for wealthy clients such as the Sternwood family in The Big Sleep. Chandler explores more of the psychological side of mystery, often leaving the active details out, to let the reader in as Marlowe walks through a case he is presented. In The Big Sleep, General Sternwood hires Marlowe to settle gambling debts accrued by

  • Comparing The Film Noir And The Big Sleep

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

  • Theme Of Justice in "The Big Sleep" and "The Black Cat"

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    absolute and something which you cannot escape psychologically, a force which is inevitable. In The Big Sleep, a conversation between Philip Marlowe and Vivien Sternwood is proceeding, in which Marlowe is offered $15,000 to be silenced over the disappearance of Rusty Regan, and within the conversation the reader is given an insight into the motivations and morals of Marlowe, and his own personal view of the topic in question, justice. In the selected extract from The Black Cat, the unnamed narrator,

  • The High Window and The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hammett, invented what is now known as modern detective literature. Chandler excelled in the art, creating "wise-cracking" cynical "private *censored*s," such as Philip Marlowe. Marlowe and Sam Spade are what shall forever be the standard Private eye with razor sharp wit, keen intellect, and the blatant disregard for authority. Philip Marlowe is the smooth talking yet sentimental private eye. Marlowe's sentimental side is what turned him into a real person, and not a "colorless narrator" as Sam Spade

  • The Big Sleep, and the Dark Noir

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Big Sleep, the main character, Philip Marlowe, is a prime example of the hard-boiled detective, found in the noir genre. Merriam Websters' dictionary defines noir as, "crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings." (Noir) When Philip Marlowe is hired by old man General Sternwood, to track down a blackmailer, he is immediately thrust into the sleazy, filthy world of General Sterwoods' two daughters, Carmen and Vivian. Marlowe finds himself entangled in extortion

  • How Is Marlowe Presented In The Big Sleep

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    The character Philip Marlowe from the novel, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, is without a doubt the popular representation of the 1930s private investigator/detective. This character delivers his inner cynical monologue describing to the audience what he is doing and feeling throughout the novel. Marlowe’s inner mood creates a portrait of an outcast protagonist who wishes only to deliver results to the clients who hired him. While it is obvious that Philip Marlowe is portrayed as an outsider within

  • The Simplicity of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    of hard-boiled detective fiction. He would like readers to see Philip Marlowe, Vivian Regan, Carmen Sternwood, Eddie Mars, and the rest of the characters as either "good guys" or "bad guys" with no deeper meaning or symbolism to them. I found the book simple and easy to understand; the problem was that it was too easy, too simple. Then came one part that totally stood out from the rest of the book &emdash; the chessboard. Marlowe toyed with it whenever he got the chance, and it probably helped

  • Little Yellow Dog, Long Goodby

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    people and environments that one finds themselves surrounded by. Easy Rawlins, the main protagonist in The Little Yellow Dog by Walter Mosely, is exposed to crime at an early age, and is surrounded by it for most of his life. On the other hand, Philip Marlowe, the main protagonist in The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler, grows up in a peaceful and pleasant environment. His first experiences with crime occur when he becomes a private investigator. As adults, both of these men find themselves involved

  • The Big Sleep Movie and Novel

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

  • The Big Sleep: Movie vs. Novel

    1588 Words  | 4 Pages

    of thriller genre, with low-key lighting and a somber mood" (Bordwell 479). By using this genre of filmmaking, Hawks had an effective vehicle with which to retain the tone of Chand... ... middle of paper ... ...yer's daughter. In the book, Marlowe had less difficulty respecting his employer through his unnatural sense of chivalry. Raymond Chandler and Howard Hawks both create incredible pieces of art with their individual representations of The Big Sleep. The differences between the

  • The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler’s First Novel

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    anything else, as both authors (Chandler and Pynchon) demonstrate with Philip Marlowe and Oedipa Maas. 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

  • Robert Altmans The Long Goodbye As A Genre Revisionist Film

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    produced many films that almost completely restructured classical Hollywood’s accepted genre conventions. A fine example of this would be Robert Altman's iconoclastic take on Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye (1973), a detective film based on the final book in Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series. Altman, who is known for turning around traditional genre conventions, revises and reinvents the film-noir style made popular by Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944), Humphrey Bogart in

  • Similes in The Big Sleep

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

  • Farewell my Lovely, The Robber Bridegroom, and In the Skin of a Lion: Unconventional Heros

    3417 Words  | 7 Pages

    Unconventional Heros Farewell my Lovely, The Robber Bridegroom, and In the Skin of a Lion all contain heroes, although their heroism is of an unconventional sort. Despite their non-traditional nature, the characters of Philip Marlowe, Jamie Lockheart and Patrick Lewis are all identifiably true heroes, because they successfully engage, draw in, and 'win over' the reader with their positive characteristics. They are not merely average people with a few heroic attributes. Furthermore, these characters

  • Sex Talks, And Lots Of Violence In Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep'

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    huge role in the story the big sleep. Money will do everything in the story. If you had money you had everything. You are guaranteed power, wealth, success, and much more. Little did they know that the money they had brought corruption, just like Marlowe says, "I would rather prefer being poor and underpaid if it means I can keep my own moral" The biggest difference with the society we live in today is that many people who are rich and wealthy and successful don 't really show it. Yes we will have

  • Film Analysis Of Order And Chaos

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    more information, it would always lead to him questioning about her. An example in the film is, at the restaurant just before the casino scene, Marlowe asks, “Why does it bother you so much? What does Eddie Mars got on you?”(Hawk, 1946) and she becomes quiet and expressionless, this shows how she is definitely hiding something which gives chaos to Marlowe. This is a very similar chaos to Chinatown. In Conclusion both movies reveal many contents that arose in order and chaos using the major film elements

  • Influence of Immigration in California

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    the history of California and how they transformed California into what it is today. “The Big Sleep” is a hard boiled detective novel, consisting crimes such as murder and blackmail. Philip Marlowe was hired by General Sternwood to investigate his daughter’s husband, Terrance Regan, due to his disappearance. As Marlowe began his investigation, he found several plots that tied closely to the disappearance of Regan. First it was the Geiger’s blackmailing using naked photos of Carmen. This then led to

  • Irony In 'The Big Sleep, Oedipus The King'

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    the first and most prominent uses of irony is when Marlowe meets what seems to be a hopeless woman by the name of Carmen. Marlowe, befuddled by later finding out that she is quite the opposite, tries to exterminate all ties to her as he does not want to get caught up in the midst of it all. Later on, she exerts herself in a very provocative manner. Thus shy, collected, and reserved, Carmen is very forward and not so shy about her body at all. Marlowe walks into a home and Carmen is there, laying on

  • Euphemism And Imagery In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    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