Essay Comparing The Big Sleep And Chinatown

813 Words2 Pages

Ending in 1919, World War I instilled a sense of disenchantment in the United States. Immediately following the war, the cynical and morally declining “Lost Generation” arose. The attitude of the “Lost Generation” continued on into the 1930s, which were marked by the Great Depression. The overall disillusionment of the time period is evident in both the novel The Big Sleep and the film Chinatown. Set in Los Angeles in the late 1930s, Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep portrays the corruption present in all. No single person is exempt from evil; the newspaper writers, policemen, and even the protagonist of the novel are all corrupt. Also set in Los Angeles in 1937, Roman Polanski’s film Chinatown depicts a similarly corrupt society in which laws and rules are nonexistent. The external descriptions and atmosphere of Los Angeles in both The Big Sleep and Chinatown reflect the moral ambiguity of the time. More specifically, the weather and dark imagery in The Big Sleep and the color and smoke in Chinatown …show more content…

Soon after meeting Vivian Sternwood, the dangerous femme fatale, Marlowe says, “Thunder was crackling in the foothills now and the sky above them was purple-black. It was going to rain. The air had the damp foretaste of rain” (21). Even though he does not know it yet, Marlowe has just encountered trouble. The weather mirrors the events of the novel, with bad weather signifying confusion and evil; conversely, sunny weather represents clarity and progress in solving the mystery. For example, a breakthrough seems to be made after Marlowe discovers that the body of Geiger has been moved. The worst seems to be over and “the next morning [is] bright, clear and sunny” (43). The pleasant weather is only temporary, however, and gloominess prevails soon after. Just as the people of Los Angeles are stuck in corruption, the city of Los Angeles is caught up in

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