The Simplicity of Raymond Chandler’s the Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler would like us to believe that The Big Sleep is just another example of hard-boiled detective fiction. He would like readers to see Philip Marlowe, Vivian Regan, Carmen Sternwood, Eddie Mars, and the rest of the characters as either â€Å"good guys† or â€Å"bad guys† with no deeper meaning or symbolism to them. I found the book simple and easy to understand; the problem was that it was too easy, too simple. Then came one part that totally stood out from the rest of the book &emdash; the chessboard. Marlowe toyed with it whenever he got the chance, and it probably helped him think of a next move in a particular case. I found it odd that Chandler made such a brief mention of chess, but I did not realize why until I finished the book and had time to think about what I had read. In a very interesting sense, the entire novel resembles the game of chess. Each character is a piece, and the name of the game is survival. Though the ultimate goal in chess is to take possession of the king, the underlying strategy is to eliminate as many pieces as one possibly can. This serves as insurance in the overall goal. Being that the characters/pieces determine the direction of the goal, let us look at them to begin. I have chosen to examine two characters in-depth and then put them on the board with the rest of the people in the novel. Philip Marlowe does not correspond to the knight of the chessboard. Chandler assumes that the reader will fall into the easy trap of assigning Marlowe to the role of the knight. After all, he is the main man in the novel, the one who needs to solve the case. His self-description in the opening chapter lures the reader into believing he is a typical white knight hero. â€Å"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be† (3). This is a fitting description of a knight only because knights must possess similar qualities in order to be heroes. The main idea here is goodness, and Marlowe's description exudes this goodness. However, as we progress throughout the novel, his â€Å"goodness† mutates into something with more of an edge on it. By the end of chapter eight, Marlowe goes â€Å"to bed full of whiskey and frustration† (42) and, the next day (chapter nine), wakes up â€Å"with a motorman's glove in my mouth† (43). It is safe to say Marlowe's sobriety is questionable, especially when he tells Bernie Ohls – and us – that, â€Å"I've got a hangover† (43). Is this the action of a knight? I do not think so. Similarly, his attitude towards everyone else in the novel detracts from his knighthood. For example, look at his treatment of Vivian Regan, who I will talk about a little later. They are talking for the first time and she tells him how cold-blooded a beast he is. â€Å"‘Or shall I call you Phil? ‘ ‘Sure. ‘ ‘You can call me Vivian. ‘ ‘Thanks, Mrs. Regan. ‘ ‘Oh, go to hell Marlowe'† (61). More of the same follows with other characters; in each instance, Marlowe does not exhibit any gentleman-like qualities that a private eye should exhibit. So, if Marlowe is not the knight on the chessboard, what is he? I believe that he is more of a rook or a bishop piece and not a knight. When we think about the knight on a chessboard, it has a good amount of flexibility but limited movement. However, a rook or a bishop can move as far as it wants to move, even if the directions are not many. Movement is important to Marlowe because he thrives on getting his task done. This requires a great deal of movement on his part. This movement includes our next subject, Vivian Regan. A funny thing happened when I was writing up the previous conversation between Marlowe and Vivian. Instead of typing â€Å"Mrs. Regan†, I typed â€Å"Mrs. Marlowe† instead. I do not attribute that to a simple lapse in thinking, but more to the fact that Vivian is similar in manner to Marlowe; they could easily be mistaken for a married couple. Vivian possesses the same sharp tongue, the same penchant for drinking, and other Marlowe-esque qualities. For example, there is the part where she is gambling in Eddie Mars' casino and makes a bet that the house cannot cover. â€Å"‘What kind of cheap outfit is this, I'd like to know. Get busy and spin that wheel, highpockets. I want one more play and I'm playing table stakes. You take it away fast enough I've noticed, but when it comes to dishing it out you start to whine'† (138). That sounds like the language Philip Marlowe might use if he ran into a similar situation. Even after he foils a would-be robber in the parking lot, she still shows little signs of thanks. ‘Nice work, Marlowe. Are you my bodyguard now? ‘† (143). Vivian complements Marlowe perfectly, but is she a rook/bishop on the chessboard in the novel? Yes, but provided that Marlowe is not the same piece as she is. In other words, if Marlowe is the rook, then Vivian is the bishop, and vice-versa. I do not see Marlowe and Vivian as cohesive as Chandler might want us to believe; nonetheless, they do possess similar qualities. After talking about two of the more prominent characters, it is time to devise a chessboard strategy that makes some kind of sense. I mentioned earlier that the point in chess is to capture the king, but another goal includes getting other pieces out of the way first. If I were to assign sides, I would put people like Eddie Mars, Joe Brody, and Carmen Sternwood on a different side than Marlowe, Vivian, and General Sternwood. Why? The first group – while giving Marlowe some kind of help – is more concerned with their own safety, and individuals are not afraid to knock off anyone who messes with them. How come Carmen is included in this group? Many people would say that she is neither here nor there, but when she comes to Brody's apartment and confronts Marlowe at the very end, she shows her true colors. In addition, there is the fact that she murdered Rusty Regan because he would not jump in the sack with her. This is where the chessboard strategy begins to unfold. Chandler's style not only pertains to his simile/metaphor use and his abbreviated sentences, but also to his construction of character movement in the novel. In chess, what one piece does to another or where it moves to directly affects the movement of other pieces on the board. For example, moving my rook three spaces may not mean capturing a piece, but it does give the opponent something to consider in terms of future moves. He does not want to make a move now that would jeopardize him later. Similarly, what happens in Joe Brody's apartment affects a good amount of the characters in the novel, from Carmen to Eddie to Marlowe to Vivian, and so on. In addition, that part affects what goes on in Eddie's casino and Geiger's house. While there may not be direct influence, there is definitely an indirect sort of influence. What does this say about Chandler as an author? It says that he likes to give his readers something to look for in his novels, and that the something will not always be apparent at first. Digging up the chessboard motif would be no easy task for most readers because of its brevity in the novel. The average reader would not read this book for analysis; he or she would read the novel for pleasure. It is only because we &emdash; as English majors &emdash; are trained to look beneath the surface that I was able to put this together. This also says something about the world that Chandler lived in. His was a world of thinking about the next move and being cautious about what one did, which is evident in the novel. It was hard to trust anybody because everyone had selfish motives on their minds. That factor also corresponds to the chessboard in that a person might move a piece for individual reasons while not even considering the rest of his or her pieces. That might lead to consequences later. Chandler cannot warn us about keeping track of all of the moves in the story because they are unfolding as we move with Marlowe (who obviously cannot warn us, either). It is up to the reader to keep track of everything. The Big Sleep is not a novel about chess. It is about how people and events interact and relate to one another, similar to the game of chess. As I mentioned before, the characters and their individual actions ultimately had an effect on the overall strategy and goal, which for Marlowe was to find Rusty Regan. He eventually discovered the late Mr. Regan, but it was only after a series of moves on the chessboard of life.

Case study of the Image Cafe

Case study of the Image Cafe Image Cafà © was founded by Clarence Wooten in 1998. Prior to that he was also a founded of Envision Designs while he was an undergraduate in 1991 and Metamorphosis Studios in 1994 with co-founder Andre Forde. However, the three company did not really last long. In 1998, Metamorphosis Studios had sold to Medisolv, Inc and Image Cafà © was acquired by Network Solution after sever months of market launch (Clarence Wooten, Jr., 2005). About Clarence Wooten, Jr. Clarence Wooten had a big dream since childhood. His dream is to get rich someday. His childhood hobby was playing with computer games. He was so obsessed with computer that his parents banned him at the age of 14 (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40). At the age of 18, he attended college to study architecture in Catonsville Community College. During that time he believes that by taking up architecture courses can satisfy his creative instincts. In the early 1990s, many professional architects went back to school to upgrade them selves due to the recession. At that point of time, he manages to learn from the senior architects. After the first two failure of his business, he realised that he did not really understand anything about finance after he read the stories from Fred Smith, Reginald Lewis and Bill Gates. This had inspired him to upgrade himself with a business administration and finance. In 1998, he was graduated with B.S. in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40). Clarence Wooten, Jr. Venture Spirit Clarence Wooten started Envision Design which was his first business while he enrolled for Catonsville Community College. The type of service he was offering was using form and cardboard to model out a proposed building. The company did not perform well during that time and eventually closed down (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40). In 1994, Clarence Wooten started his second company Metamorphosis Studios with his co-founded Andre Forde by focusing on spec ial effects and multimedia presentations. Their first customer is Bingwa, an educational software company. However, Bingwa require Metamorphosis Studios to relocate to Princeton, New Jersey and worked for Bingwa. After a thought Clarence Wooten and Andre Forde turned down the offer as they know they are heading for something big (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40). Metamorphosis Studios was not a successful project too, in 1998 Metamorphosis Studios was acquired by MediSolv, Inc (Clarence Wooten, Jr., 2005). In early 1998, Clarence Wooten started his third company Image Cafà ©. Back in 1995, internet service began to grow. Many companies had started to create their own companies website in order to promote their products and services over the World Wide Web. However, during that time, many companies do not have their own expertise to create a website. Clarence Wooten knew that this is an opportunity and started Image Cafà © to help companies by design their website to promote their products and services over the web (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40). At the start of Image Cafà ©, Clarence Wooten went around to search for capital in order to start his business. What Clarence Wooten wants was $300,000 capital based on $3 million valuation. In total he received $110,000 from 10 different investors. Image Cafà © website was ready to launch after four month of preparation. However, at that point of time, Clarence Wooten had utilised the cash during the launch. He went back to the existing investors to ask for additional $150,000 in form of bridge loan. This time, Clarence Wooten expects to raise $3million at $10 million valuation (Kathryn F, Spinelli, 2004: 33-40).

Art History 406 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art History 406 - Term Paper Example American art of this time depicted nothing more from its paintings but of merchants and planters in a style rooted in European traditions. From the ashes of the war rose two great American painters. Benjamin West was born on October 10, 1738 of Quaker parents in Springfield (now Swarthmore) in the Pennsylvania colony. His talent for painting was developed when as a kid he learned to draw from paints given to him by his Indian friends. At the time there were no art schools or reputable masters with a great collection of paintings for young artists to study, but by the mid-1750s West began to paint portraits in and around Philadelphia (Craven, 2003, p.136). While in  Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1756, Wests patron, William Henry, a gunsmith, encouraged him to design a "Death of Socrates" based on an engraving in  Charles Rollins  Ancient History. The painting has been called "the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America" (Staley, 1989, p. 28). Dr. William Smith, the  provost  of the  College of Philadelphia, after seeing the painting in Henrys house, offered West education and introduced him to wealthy Pennsylvanians and politicians. During t his time West met  the famous painter, John Wollaston, an immigrant from  London who taught him techniques for painting the shimmer of silk and satin (Hughes, 1999, p. 68). In 1759 West went to Rome, where he spent three years studying the Renaissance and Baroque masters and ancient masterpieces. There he took time to sketch art works like Roman reliefs, more particularly those the Royal Academy with Sir Joshua Reynolds, its first president. Between 1772 and 1801, he was historical painter to King George III. West became one of the first American artists to win a wide reputation in Europe for Agripinna. In the picture, the group forming the center is based on an

Marketing research of Holland & Barrett Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing research of Holland & Barrett - Essay Example Holland and Barrett is a European retailer company which deals in the products of herbal supplements, vitamins and other health care products. It is widely diversified company which operates through more than six hundred outlets. It mainly operates in UK and Ireland. The Holland and Barrett was founded in 1920 by Samuel Ryder. The head quarter of the company is situated in United Kingdom. The staffs of the company are well trained and most of the training is provided by the company itself. In 2008 Holland Barrette bought Julian Graves another health food retailer of United Kingdom, which expanded the number of the company’s outlets across UK and Ireland. The parent company of Holland and Barrette is NBTY Europe Ltd whose former name was Holland and Barrette ltd. The parent company was established in 2002. It is also based in UK and operates in the pharmaceutical sector. The Holland and Barrett offers a number of products from its retail outlets. All the products are health care products which can be categorized as food and health drinks, body building products and services, dietary products, multi vitamins, toiletries and other products. Food and health drinks contains various brands of cereals, confectionery, dried fruit, honey, nuts and seeds. Body building products includes a number of brands of protein supplements, creatine, amino acids, weight gain products, weight management products etc. Dietaries products have a number of brands which are all weight reducing products.... It is widely diversified company which operates through more than six hundred outlets. It mainly operates in UK and Ireland. The Holland and Barrett was founded in 1920 by Samuel Ryder. The head quarter of the company is situated in United Kingdom. The staffs of the company are well trained and most of the training is provided by the company itself (Holland and Barrette-a, 2011). In 2008 Holland Barrette bought Julian Graves another health food retailer of United Kingdom, which expanded the number of the company’s outlets across UK and Ireland (Holland and Barrette, 2008). The parent company of Holland and Barrette is NBTY Europe Ltd whose former name was Holland and Barrette ltd. The parent company was established in 2002. It is also based in UK and operates in the pharmaceutical sector. 2.2. Product and Service Analysis The Holland and Barrett offers a number of products from its retail outlets. All the products are health care products which can be categorized as food and h ealth drinks, body building products and services, dietary products, multi vitamins, toiletries and other products. Food and health drinks contains various brands of cereals, confectionery, dried fruit, honey, nuts and seeds(Holland and Barrett-b, 2011). Body building products includes a number of brands of protein supplements, creatine, amino acids, weight gain products, weight management products etc (Holland and Barrett-c, 2011). Dietaries products have a number of brands which are all weight reducing products (Holland and Barrett-d, 2011). Most popular brands of toiletries are chemical free deodorant, instant hand sanitizer and tea tree oil soap (Holland and Barrett-f, 2011). The major brands of

The Biblical Model for Discipleship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Biblical Model for Discipleship - Essay Example Applying Paul’s ministry to this week’s lesson on the â€Å"Biblical Model for Discipleship†, I have realized that obeying God and being a faithful servant of His is simple. It can basically be summed up to – A change of heart, a change of life. According to Michael Mitchell, in his book, â€Å"Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples†, the Biblical model for discipleship could be achieved in as easy as four steps – Accepting God’s words; Listen and Apply; Study God’s word to gain more understanding; and lastly, Walking in the ways of Good Men (Mitchell, Michael R., Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples). In studying the book of Philippians, a book written by Paul in his journey to win the people of Philippi to God, we can see Paul’s practical approach in ministering to the Philippians that are as 1 practical as the four steps of discipleship suggested by Michael Mitchell. To get a clearer background of what he did, it i s best to look at the verses of Philippians 4: 1-2 which says, â€Å"Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! 2  I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.† (Bible Gateway, Philippians 4 NIV). We can see that Paul started his teaching to the Philippians by directing them to having a heart and mind that is in line with God’s will. We all know that our hearts and minds direct us towards certain actions that may or may not be pleasing to God. The danger of sin only happens when we set plans in our lives without consulting God first. Thus, Paul urges the Philippians here to start their walk with God by teaching their hearts and minds to get to know who God really is and what He wants us to do, so obedience would be easier and purposeful, knowing that despite the rocky roads you are sent to take, you know you are on your way to giving God the glory He deserves. This complements the first model of discipleship which is to accept God’s word and having faith to do it. Also, in Philippians 4: 5-7, that says, â€Å"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus†, we can see that Paul encourages the Philippians to listen and apply God’s teachings even when it seems impossible or unreasonable at times, parallel to Mitchell’s second model for discipleship. We all know that in our Christian life, it is easy to hear God’s word and 2 accept them as truth. However, the challenge for us is greatly seen in how well we stick to what we know and actually obey God despite persecutio ns, inconvenience, and doubt. Today, especially when the world presents so much good things that are not necessarily pleasing to God, the only way we can fight temptation is to cling onto God’s word and promises, and rely on His grace to help us withstand it all. To sum up Paul’

Public Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Public Relations - Assignment Example This is a professional organization comprising of professionals from different walks of life who are interested in developing their careers within this field. I am confident that if I jouin this organization, I will immensely benefit since I wil get an opportunity to interact with other people with a wealth of knowledge in this particular field. This will also give me exposure to other pertinent issues that often shape the profession of integrated marketing communication and public relations. Above all, networking This organization fits with my goals because it is designed to enlighten all the members about the paths they can follow in as far as their career development is concerned. This association will also help me to interact with other professionals in the same field where we can exchange information and other relevant ideas that can contribute towards the generation of knowledge in our field. The organization has upcoming events and conferences that are meant to boost our knowledge in the field of marketing communication and public relations. For instance, the association has upcoming conferecnces that include the following: Ameerican Marketing Association’s 2014 Annual Conference, Brand Manage Camp as well as the 2015 Analytics with Purpose Conference among

The art of the impressionists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The art of the impressionists - Essay Example The light and color effects can also be noticed in Camille Pissarro's works wherein the lights and colors vary depending on the specific time of the day. In "The Stage Coach at Louveciennes," the artist painted the scene in dark lighting conditions possessing complementary colors of reds and greens generously used by the artist while in "Le verger (The Orchard)," the noticeable brightness of the day light and the complementing colors of violet with shades of yellow and the blue sky in contrast to the hint of orange shade of the soil. In the "Village Path," the red lighting of the painting can be clearly seen which in turn complements the dominantly green color of the scenery. In addition to the attribute of light and color effects of the impressionist style, impressionistic paintings are also characterized by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors, as explained with the examples previously mentioned, and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light (Pioch).