comment on Point of View

The book is written in first person from the limited view of the hero, Private Investigator Phillip Marlowe. Marlowe is described by critics as the "quintessential detective" of the time period. His comments are full of sarcasm and wit. Having the insight of Marlowe makes the book flow well though there are few of Marlowe's thoughts revealed before it's the proper time for the "punch line." For example, when he wants to go to Eileen Wade's house with Howard Spencer, he says only that he wants a witness for what he's going to tell her. He doesn't give Spencer any clue as to what that something is. The interesting thing is that the reader is also left in the dark until the two arrive at the Wade home and the conversation takes place. Marlowe's thoughts on the subject - including any thinking he does on the way - are not revealed. There are times when the reader is offered a hint that something important is about to occur, but Marlowe's thoughts and his personal knowledge are not inserted until the event takes place. The process works and means that the reader is allowed to guess, just as is appropriate for novels such as this.