Similarities and Differences

Deception and a cool hand seem to be the keys to good investigative work. In both Brick and The Big Sleep, the respective main characters are social renegades; which is to say, embodying the master PI. The master PI is always looking for the next play before the previous one fades out. He understands that nothing is as it appears, displays a certain clarity amongst the unexpected and, at the proper time, can harness this knowledge to his advantage. The Big Sleep, written in the thirties portrays extreme structural similarities to Brick, 2005. Both stories take place in communities that contain hierarchies and sub-groups. The main characters in both stories share a lone-wolf tendency that allows them to move freely and unabated through their respective underworlds.

Where the two pieces divert, however, is at the juncture of description. We can glean much more information from Chandler because, for one, literary works can provide a portal into a character’s mind that a movie simply cannot. Chandler is also more engaging in his use of foreshadowing and first-person narrative. He provides a thriller that is lasting and makes the reader crave to delve deeper, not only into the story, but into Marlowe’s past. He must know that the reader desires these things, yet he holds back. This, I think, is the sign of an effective writer; patience. The idea of writing is to expose the reader to an entire world in and of itself. The author must formulate this world in his head and communicate it on paper. He already knows where the story is headed, but he must communicate only the essential details at precisely the right time. I think Chandler is effective at this, because while I find myself not liking anything in particular about this novel thus far, I cannot help but be intrigued as to what direction it is headed toward.

-Jason Barnett