Book: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Choose a reading.
In your project, consider the following:
What does this work reflect about its historical, social, political and/or economic context? You may focus on race, class, power, cultural values and beliefs, historical events, the author’s biography, gender, psychology, etc.
This could be an interesting topic for The Big Sleep since it revolves around the actions and behaviors of a middle working class detective working for a very wealthy family. It would be easy to compare the behaviors between the two very different classes in this book. It would also be cool to discuss the gender differences because of the way women were portrayed in these old detective literature stories.
Choose a reading selection. Then choose one of the following questions, and write an argument in response to it:
- How does the work reflect the period in which it was written?
- What does the work reveal about the cultural behavior contemporary to it?
- How are class differences presented in the work? Are characters aware or unaware of the economic and social forces that affect their lives?
This prompt would be nice for pretty much the same reasons as listed in my last one. There is a huge difference in the way the members of different classes carry themselves. Our main character almost prides himself in not being obsessed with money, and is very level headed, while the two daughters of the wealthy family are wild and don’t care about anyone but themselves.
Choose a reading selection. Explore the relationship between elements of the selection. For example: how does setting influence character development?
This would also be a cool prompt to work on because the setting definitely plays a role in how the characters develop. Los Angeles is a crazy place filled with crazier people, and you can see it a lot in this book. I also like how the author uses the weather to kind of foreshadow what will happen in the plot (things seem to be going bad when it is stormy and wet and good things seem to happen when the weather is nice and sunny. This would be another interesting idea to explore more.
I think the second prompt is closer to the story line of the book, and is more narrow of a question, which might make the essay harder. No matter what, just remember to tie the class differences back to what was happening at that time in history, more specifically, California's history. Other than that, this story should be a fun read! I love historically accurate accounts of history and social class differences.
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony! My favorite is your first prompt selection. I'm not sure specifically what era your novel is set in, but your use of "old detective literature stories" makes me think that maybe it was set in the 1920's or 1930's? Regardless, it sounds like there are definitely some cultural differences than what we experience today. I also like the idea of discussing class differences, especially since it sounds like the main character is not focused on money but really loves the detective work that he does. Like Sydney mentioned, the second one seems more specific but might be more difficult to play out, so I think the first one is your best bet. The third prompt sounds interesting as well, I like how you mentioned the weather was related to the tone of the scene, I think that would be a cool area to explore. I look forward to reading about your final choice next week!
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI like that you’ve chosen prompts that would work well with your story. In my opinion, the first two subjects you have chosen seem to be a bit easier to write on. Not to mention that I think it would be interesting to explore the difference in class especially when you’re given great subjects (at least they sound great) in your book. Comparing wealthy individuals against middle class, men against women and / or behaviors that these people portray will be interesting to write about and to read. In my opinion, your last choice, writing about how Los Angeles is a crazy place full of crazy people may be harder for you to explore. Many places though crazy have normal people and many normal places have crazy people. Of your three choices, I feel that this will be the hardest to create and stick to a thesis. You’ve got a great start here, I can’t wait to see what you choose to explore.
Best,
Corine
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI haven’t read this book, but it sounds like it might be a cool one if it is an old detective story. All of your topics are great and sound like they would all work well with your story. I think your thesis would be easy to argue with topic #1, since it is apparent there are class and cultural differences. Topic #2 might be the easiest to find and explore the class differences, but you’ll definitely need to give a strong argument on whether or not you think the characters are aware of it or not and why. Topic #3 might be a bit more difficult to argue about Los Angeles being a crazy place, even though most people know there are definitely some questionable sections of the city! Perhaps the weather being the cause of craziness might have some validity, which would be very interesting to ready about. I look forward to seeing which topic you chose! Good luck!
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your choices I personally see the first prompt becoming the easiest and most cohesive essay to write. While your second choice would have been a great essay, like stated, it will be a bit harder to write due to how narrow it is. You may struggle making sure your essay is the appropriate length. I think the third choice would need to be built up a lot and seems very subjective. I think you may be better off choosing between the first two. Whichever you choose, I wish you luck and I can't wait to read your take on it.