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The Big Sleep is a hard-boiled detective novel by Raymond Chandler, first published in 1939. It introduces private detective Philip Marlowe, who is hired to untangle a web of deception involving the wealthy Sternwood family.
- Chapters 31 & 32
A summary of Chapters 31 & 32 in Raymond Chandler's The Big...
- Full Book Summary
A short summary of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. This...
- Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas...
- Character List
The Big Sleep characters include: Philip Marlowe, Eddie...
- Philip Marlowe
What The Big Sleep tells its readers about detective Philip...
- Important Quotes Explained
Explanation of the famous quotes in The Big Sleep, including...
- Context
Important information about Raymond Chandler's background,...
- Carmen Sternwood
A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Carmen...
- Eddie Mars
A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Eddie Mars...
- Symbols
A summary of Symbols in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep....
- Chapters 31 & 32
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Analysis
The private detective Philip Marlowe enters the Sternwood mansion in Los Angeles at 11:00 on a morning in mid October. Marlowe is unusually clean and well dressed for the occasion of meeting General Sternwood, an old oil baron, for a commission. Contrasting with the luxury of the mansion and Marlowe's refined appearance is the weather outside, whic...
Marlowe follows the butler into the greenhouse, where the sick General is waiting. The greenhouse is uncomfortably hot, filled with jungle-like greenery, and the air thick and moist, suffused with a suffocating odor of wet orchids. They reach an open space where the sick and dying General is sitting in his wheelchair. Marlowe sits down and accepts ...
Marlowe enters Mrs. Regan's room, a highly ornate, high-ceilinged space. Vivian is beautiful but Marlowe thinks she is "trouble." She is flirtatious like her sister, but in a less childish manner. Vivian is also taller and stronger- looking than her sister. She has black, intense eyes much like the portrait Marlowe has noticed in the Sternwood mans...
Detective Philip Marlowe immediately introduces us to Chandler's style and tone. Marlowe is observant and direct and, as we soon find out, he is honest beneath his brashness. The first indication that Marlowe is a "good guy"—and even perhaps a modern-day knight—is his assertion, upon seeing the stained- glass panel of the knight rescuing the damsel...
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Published in 1939, The Big Sleep by novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler is a murder mystery widely regarded as one of the greatest hard-boiled detective stories of the 20th century. The work introduces Philip Marlowe, a fictional private eye with a jaundiced view of humanity but a strong sense of fairness, who appears in seven other ...