Write a 4 page essay on The Big Sleep.Download file to see previous pages... The detective is a cynical, smart, professional investigator who mouths witty dialogues and works on cases, on being hired.

Write a 4 page essay on The Big Sleep.

The detective is a cynical, smart, professional investigator who mouths witty dialogues and works on cases, on being hired. The man who hires the detective is rather old and fragile in exercising his courage and efforts to put an end to the troublesome threat calls. The old man's daughters are extremely good looking girls, who are thoroughly spoilt and headstrong. There also lies a suspicious side to the older daughter, besides some other dubious characters of the novel. All this constitute the typical characterization based on the Hard-Boiled formula.

c. Setting: The setting of the novel is again typically Hard-Boiled. The first few scenes showcase the encounter of the detective with the person who proposes to hire him. This takes place in a rather rich, gloomy huge bungalow, which gives the introductory feeling into the storyline consisting of a mystery and subsequently, a detective solving it. Later, the setting shifts to one oppressive crime scene to another, which mark the collection of clues and solving of the case.

"...winding down curved rain swept streets, under the steady drip of trees, past lighted windows in big houses in ghostly enormous grounds, vague clusters of eaves and gables and lighted windows high on the hillside, remote and inaccessible, like witch houses in a forest. I came out at a service station glaring with wasted light, where a bored attendant in a white cap and a dark blue windbreaker sat on a stool, inside the steamed glass, reading a paper... on a night like this you could grow a beard waiting for a taxi."

Label the characteristics in the passage.

a. The above lines are written in first person, which is a characteristic of the Hard-Boiled formula.

b. The detective is the speaker or narrator, here, which again is typical of the Hard-Boiled genre.

c. The detailing is rather precise with vivid and picturesque descriptions, following a rhythmic pattern of speech, which is how Hard-Boiled specialist writers write.

d. We get an insight into the lighting of the whole setup, which is dark, gloomy with occasional neon lighting. This, again, is a characteristic of the Hard-Boiled formula.

e. The last line, "on a night like this you could grow a beard waiting for a taxi." Is rather witty and a wise cracking, which is the characteristic linguistic style used by the characters of the Hard-Boiled fiction formula.

Do you think the above passage you've copied is well-written Why or why not

Personally, I feel the above passage is written quite well. It gives the reader very picturesque details and descriptions which helps him/her imagine and follow the occurrences effectively. The fictitious novel is not a visual medium and therefore, descriptions help readers imagine the scene beautifully and the writer has succeeded in this.