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In “Down These Mean Streets,” D. Fine describes immigrants how “one carries one’s past into the present, and however successful one is in burying the past for a time, it resurfaces.” In other words, history, in many ways, re-emerges in people’s lives whether they want it or not. When history re-emerges, it can have both positive and negative effects on someone. In Raymond Chandler’s, “The Big Sleep,” the history of LA and the history of the characters drove and developed the plot. In the novel, several characters were immigrants from places like the Midwest and east coast. Although these were minor characters, they still represent the majority of the population in California; thus they play an important role in portraying Raymond Chandler’s L.A. Therefore, by looking into immigrants in “The Big Sleep,” readers can understand how immigrants influenced 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 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...
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...,” no matter what reason it is that made an immigrant into one or what the immigrant is trying to avoid will resurface into his/her new life. Because of the vast amount of immigrants in California, when they bring their history and money hungry attitudes, it transforms the whole dynamic of California. It is safe to say that immigrants had the most influence and power to the culture of California. That is the sad truth about immigration and that is what contributed to California as it is today.
Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The big sleep. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. Print.
Fine, David M. Imagining Los Angeles. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000. Print.
Spooner, Denise. "A New Perspective On The Dream". California dreams and realities. By Maasik, Sonia and J. Fisher Solomon. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995. Print.
Through visiting La Plaza De Culturas Y Artes, I have learned a lot more interesting, yet, surprising new information about the Chicano history in California. For example, in the 1910’s and on the high immigration of Mexicans and other Chicanos, into coal mines and farms by major corporations, made California one of the richest states in the US. I also learned that most of California 's economy was heavily reliant on immigrants. Immigrants were the preferred worker for major corporations because they didn 't have American rights and were given the harder jobs for less pay.
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
The Big Sleep (1946) is a film noir directed by Howard Hawks and was the first adaption from Raymond Chandler’s 1939 novel of the same name. The film stars Humphrey Bogard as hard-boiled private detective, Philip Marlowe, and Lauren Bacall, as Vivian Rutledge. The title The Big Sleep is synonymous with death and the word “Big” refers to an everlasting sleep. While Sean Regan is found dead after subsequently disappearing, Marlow is always up throughout the night trying to track down leads. The dark mise-en-scene contributes to the gloomy and mysterious tone of the movie. Furthermore, the director never references the title in the film leaving the audience more perplexed. In the lecture, Gillian states that film noir is dependent on black and
Upon initial research of the rich heritage of California the two minority groups that stood out as especially influential in historic California and today’s society are the Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. To better understand and identify with these minority groups we must identify the common themes within their day to day life. By researching each culture’s common family traditions, religious beliefs, arts & entertainment, and language one can gain a greater appreciation of many different kinds of people, and in turn have more effective relationships in a multicultural society.
James Marshall discovered gold in the American River in northern California which caused a great migration to California. Due to this discovery, the United States commodity prices increased and raise in commodity prices urged workers to go on strike in order to protect their standard of living. The U.S. provided 45 percent of the world's gold production between 1851 and 1855. Many people benefited from finding gold because the amount of gold that was found will determine how well they succeeded in becoming rich. The Gold Rush led to the exploration of different territories in California, the encountering of gold, and the exchange of different cultural ideas. The exploration of gold in California during the 1800's affected immigration, the exchange of cultural ideas and shaped the social structure during this period also known as the "Gold Rush."
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 his field and community, his relationships and actions would prove otherwise.
Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep as a piece of hard boiled detective fiction. This style was a reaction to the high style of detective stories such as those involving Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple. Writers often set hard boiled detective novels in a gritty world where everyone has a past. In The Big Sleep, Chandler keeps this edgy, lower class tone right down to the objects he utilizes for comparisons in his metaphors.
The very nature of The Big Sleep, then, makes adaptation difficult. The entire narrative is described by a character within the story space: Marlowe tells us the entire story. Our view of the plot, then, is clouded by Marlowe's sight. Being a character within the story space, he has his own feelings and his own reactions to what happens to and around him, and he passes those reactions&emdash;albeit unconsciously&emdash;to the reader, who, also unconsciously, picks up on them.
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.
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 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 of lies and deception concerning the Sternwood family, especially the two young daughters.
This essay will discuss the issue of migration in South California, Los Angeles. This subject is very topical and affects many people. Why thousands of people immigrate to the city? Why other leave Los Angeles? There are a lot of reasons: economic, social, environmental and others. Arguments and all information will be analyzed thoroughly.
The Big Sleep has a plot saturated with blackmail, threats, and murder that stem from the sexual actions of Carmen. This sex is the main contributing factor to the darkness that Marlowe finds. However, it is not just sex alone that is the nightmare; but sex used as an instrumental good of exchange. Through comparing the characterizations of Vivian, Carmen, and Mona and the resolution of the plot for characters that engage in this darkness, we can see how using sex as a mode of exchange is different than sex as an act of love for Marlowe. By creating this nightmare about sex as a means to gain wealth, Chandler is playing into his society’s fears of oversexualization of women.
Rasna Atwal Writing 39B Kirsty Singer The Big Sleep The Big Sleep is a novel set in the 1920s in which Marlowe, the main character, was originally hired to deal with a blackmailing issue with General Sternwood’s daughter but this private investigation then turns into a bigger search as Marlowe finds out more and more. The novel emphasizes the society and the type of people that made up the world during this time period and how they interacted with each other and those around them. Detectives were common during this time due to the lack of trust in the people set to run the society (police, etc).
Greenberg, Brad A. "Dreams Fulfilled for New Citizens." San Gabriel Valley Tribune. California. 15 Apr. 2006.
Evensvold, Marty D. "The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation." Library Journal Dec. 2001: 200. General OneFile. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.