Raymond Chandler's Writing Techniques in The Big Sleep
I sat at my desk, wondering what I could possibly write about The Big Sleep. I mean, there are so many possibilities. This guy, Raymond Chandler's writing style is so different from anything I have ever read before, that there are many things that I could talk about. I heard that Chandler once said, "I live for syntax!" It does not surprise me that he would say something along those lines. I mean, this writer is all over the page with different writing techniques. Whether it is his use of similes or the lack of punctuation, Chandler's novel is easy to read, process and enjoy.
I wouldn't say that this book requires an in-depth reading to understand the plot. The style that Chandler writes in is easily understood. His narrative voice is almost what I would consider conversational. Conversational, in the sense that everyday speech is very similar to the written language of this novel; it is uncommon to write the same way that one talks. It was easy for me to hear the voices of Marlowe and Vivian in my head; I could hear the sarcastic tones of the protagonist as I read. The flow of this novel does not have the normal novelistic style that most books consist of; that is, layered, detailed and a bit wordy sometimes. It is written very much how people talk to one another. Chandler uses a lot of slang, not in conversations, but in his narrative.
In order to easily describe the way Chandler writes it is best to break down a few bits and pieces of the text. For instance, the lack of punctuation throughout Chandler's text is an example of his style. It takes a while to find a semi-colon or a colon anywhere in the novel. I have already ...
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...the spice of life, is it not? Chandler is probably one of the easiest writers to remember; once you have read Chandler, it is not easy to forget the style he writes in. The story itself may be forgotten, but his language, his rhythm, his style, never is. Chandler was lucky in the sense that he was in the right place at the right time, his books became well-known and well read almost immediately after publication.
These days, it is much harder to have such an instant success as Chandler did. Chandler was lucky indeed, but it was not entirely luck that put him at the top of the lists for one of the best hard-boiled detective writers ever. His witty, charismatic style did that for him.
Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.
Kemp, William. The Writing Process: Chandler 202. January 14, 1999
...nthem, she presents a collectivist society in which a man’s inalienable right of individualism has been revoked, which causes the citizens to render their souls to the strong dictatorship. They conform to part of the programmed group referred to as “We” and compromise their desires to accept the collectivist tenet as true. They possess no free thought and are forbidden to have free will. Gradually, they transform to which they need no palpable shackles because their minds are fettered through the deprivation they suffer. However, she uses the main character Equality to break down the binds of society and form his own individual path. Equality’s story to relates to human existence in which men must lead their own lives or suffer the horrid consequences of interdependence and living for society’s sake.
Film Noir is a genre of distinct and unique characteristics. Mostly prominent in the 40s and 50s, the genre rarely skewed from the skeletal plot to which all Film Noir pictures follow. The most famous of these films is The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks. This film is the go to when it comes to all the genre’s clichés. This formula for film is so well known and deeply understood that it is often a target for satire. This is what the Coen brothers did with 1998’s The Big Lebowski. This film follows to the T what Film Noir stands for.
The Big Sleep Movie and Novel & nbsp; 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 one Mr. A. G. Geiger. Upon digging for the answer to this puzzle placed before Marlowe for a mere $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. & nbsp; When reading the novel, it is hard to imagine the story without a narrator at all. It certainly seems essential for the story's make-up to have this witty, sarcastic voice present to describe the sequence of events. Yet, there is a version of Chandler's novel that does not have an audible storyteller, and that version is the 1946 movie directed by Howard Hawks. & nbsp; Hawks' version of The Big Sleep is known to be one of the best examples of the film genre-film noir. "
“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 the appearance of Agnes and Joe because they also tried to use the photos to blackmail Vivian Sternwood. Mona Grant, wife to Eddie Mars, comes into the story for the reason where Marlowe believed that Regan’s with Mona and if Marlowe knew where Mona was, he could potentially find Regan. The twist occurred at the very end of the novel; when Marlowe went to the Sternwood’s to return Carme...
His style was described as “an attempt to get at minds and souls and what goes on within.” Also as “oblique, inferential, suggestive rather than overt, explicit, explanatory.” And yet somehow, “Mr. Hemingway can pack a whole character into a phrase, an entire situation into a sentence or two.”
Living in a world controlled by the government limits the thoughts of citizens. In a book Anthem written by Ayn Rand, a man named Equality 7-2521 is born into a Dystopian future in which the government controls life. He is different from his brothers; he is an individualist. This prods him to escape his government's grasp and rethink his moral assessment. After escaping the government Equality rethinks all the lies his people sold him on At the beginning Equality believes that his thoughts and actions are sins to his government and his brothers, but his eventual assessment of his sins is correct. Equality is a young man who is good-natured, a good thinker, and he challenges himself to become a better person.
As for Waldhorn (1972), he suggested that Hemingway’s style did not change significantly over the years. Wheeler (1998) suggests that Hemingway’s style has specific traits that set him apart. Thus, while some critics (Comley & Scholes, 1998; Paul, 1999) assert that Hemingway’s style changed
In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, a world of rules and lack of individuality is described and shown in full detail. The strict rules and commandments set by that society are there to ensure that no man stand out more than the other. However, in this world some stand against the commandments set and go along with their own rules. The main character of the novel Equality was always driven to learn, and it was viewed as a curse to the society he was born in. Equality fights back his curse for as long as he can, but loses that battle and breaks away from that cursed world. He sees things as his own now and plans on building a new world with commandments of his own. Equality’s world will be entirely different from the one he left, and he will not share any of the rules of that place. Instead of building on every man being the same, his society will be built on the one word “ego” and man can be free to do anything.
Every individual person must forge their own path to freedom in order to become victorious. In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, it is almost impossible to have a personal victory. However, in the collectivist society that Equality lives in, he has a true victory, one that can only be attributed to himself. In Equality’s case, he must break free from the shackles of his oppressive society to achieve his own victory of becoming a free individual.
...different writing style. For example, Charles Dickens used long sentences and detailed descriptions to capture the moment. Unlike Hemingway, Dickens used a lot of adjective to describe things like setting, characters, e.t.c.
Back in the 1920's, Most of America's women were dependent on men. The character Daisy Buchanan disregarded everyone's feelings for her own security and comfort. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, she is portrayed as a money-hungry, selfish, and immature woman. Daisy is more interested in making sure she is stable and safe before everyone else.
captivated many audiences by his style of writing, conveys that there is a gap between guys and
The language used in the first two paragraphs outlines the area to which the book is set, this depicts that it is almost perfect and an. an idyllic place to be. The mood is tranquil and takes the reader to a place “where all life seems to live in harmony”. In the first two paragraphs. Carson uses language of melodrama to inspire the reader’s.
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.
Hemingway was very good at stating impressive amount of things in a one short sentence. “Hemingway’s mature style of writing short, declarative sentences developed at the Star”(Oliver 3). He acquired this skill from working at a Newspaper company. He uses minimal amount of words to make a powerful point. “Mr. and Mrs. Elliot tried very hard to have a baby” (1). This short sentence itself raises many questions and it states many things; the inability of the Mr. Elliot to satisfy his wife sexually or questioning Mr. Elliot sexual preference and as well as of Mrs. Elliot. “The liquor had all died out of him and left him alone” (171). This short line describes how lonely the character of Nick Adam feels and how sad he feels for the loss of her girl friend Marjorie. “‘Well, Doc,’ he said, ‘that’s a nice lot of timber you’ve stolen’” (7). This particular sentence has so much weight that it shakes th...