Murder and More Reading Question Set – Week 7
Printing Note:
Please note that to conserve printing resources, I didn't leave a lot of room between questions for your
responses. However, please consider printing on the front only. You can then take notes on the back sides
of each sheet. One other suggestion: hole punch your materials and arrange in a binder notebook to study
from for final exam.
Reading Questions Note:
Questions are arranged in the order of the reading assignment. In addition, I have made an effort to list the
questions in the order in which the answers are covered in the readings, but note that this is not always
possible. It is helpful—really—to read the questions prior to reading articles or stories. This will help you
identify the principles, ideas, and points that you need to know for class, and it will help keep you focused
on the essentials. Some of the readings are pretty dense (as in, lots of points, ideas, examples, and other
weighty matters), so it does help to have a guide of what to look for.
Chandler - The Big Sleep
1.
How does the image the knight in the stained glass in chapter one symbolize the role of the detective or
the theme of a hardboiled detective story? What is interesting about the re-mentioning of the stained
glass in chapter 30 at the end of the novel?
2.
What role does "genetics" appear to play in the story? For example, how is the Sternwood lineage
important?
3.
In what ways is the novel "naturalistic"? Are there other themes or thematic elements present in the
story?
4.
Compare Marlowe's relationship with the police to other stories we've read of detective/police
interactions, like Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin or Holmes and Watson or Carlotta Carlyle or Dan
Turner.
5.
What examples of language or usage do you find interesting in the text? How do these examples add to
the story's themes, characters, and settings? How does the first person narrative effect the reader?
6.
What settings are important in the story and why?
7.
In terms of the plot and investigation Marlowe undertakes: Who killed Owen Taylor the chauffer and
why? Who killed Arthur Gwynn Geiger and why? Who killed Joe Brody and why? Who killed Harry
Jones and why? Who killed Rusty Regan and why? As you answer these questions while reading, be
sure to update your responses when the end of the novel comes since it is pertinent to understanding
the whole.
8.
Is there justice, poetic or otherwise, for each murder in the novel? Who goes free without any
punishment? What role does Marlowe play as judge and jury for some characters?
Reading Questions – Week Seven 1
9.
Categorize the following characters in terms of the hardboiled story. How is each symbolic or iconic?
How does each defy the type?
Phillip Marlowe
Carmen Sternwood
Vivian Sternwood
General Sternwood
Norris
Bernie Ohls
Taggart Wilde
Captain Cronjager
Captain Gregory
Arthur Gwynn Geiger
Agnes
Joe Brody
Carol Lungren
Eddie Mars
Harry Jones
Mona Mars
Canino
10. Watch the film of The Big Sleep and describe how the film differs from the novel and how the film
enhanced the novel for you. What particular details were different? What parts of the film made the
novel more meaningful for you (or less)? Describe specific scenes.
Reading Questions – Week Seven 2