craft a 250-word response to ONE of the following prompts. Be sure to review the Rubric for discussions, and remember that responding to your peers is worth 1/3 of your grade here:
1) Gill Plain's article's main point is that although hard-boiled detective fiction is full of tough guys and macho swagger, the work of Raymond Chandler especially should be seen as a defensive reaction to the men's "paradoxical vulnerability." Assess this claim in light of what happens with Vivian in Chapter 23 or Carmen in Chapter 24. What is really going on when Marlowe rejects the advances of these women? For this post, you will need to correctly quote, cite and analyze a passage from Plain that you think is most illuminating on this issue. Then you need to select a passage or two from The Big Sleep to quote and analyze, using Plain to interpret the scene.
2) Sean McCann's article makes the claim that the key thread running through all of Chandler's fiction is a preoccupation with a lost era of social harmony and fraternal cooperation; his novels are post-mortems and requiems for a dying America of shared values and shared vision. Please assess McCann's argument in terms of the final scenes of the book: you can talk about any important moment after Marlowe's escape from Rialto (i.e. Chapter 30 to the end: his last meeting with Captain Gregory, the final meeting at the General's bedside, his showdown with Carmen, his confrontation with Vivian about what happened, his final meditation about "the big sleep" that ends the novel). Select a passage from McCann that you believe is most important for interpreting your scene. First, correctly quote, cite and analyze the passage from McCann to explain what is most useful about the article. Then analyze one of the final moments in The Big Sleep, using McCann to interpret the scene.
3) Why doesn't the novel end after the sit-down in the DA's office in Chapter 18? The murders have been solved, the scandal has been hushed, and peace has been restored to the rackets. Why doesn't Marlowe just cash his check and call it a day? For this post, you will need to correctly quote, cite and analyze a passage from either Plain or McCann that you think is most illuminating on this issue. Then you need to select a passage or two from The Big Sleep to quote and analyze, using your critic to interpret the scene.
Sample Solution