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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color hair does Eddie Mars have?

2. What does Marlowe tell Brody he can frame him for?

3. Where does Marlowe discover tracks?

4. Whose apartment does Marlowe visit in this chapter?

5. Whose bedroom did the id move Geiger's body?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Marlowe find in his apartment on his return home?

2. How does Marlowe kill Canino?

3. In what way has the woman threatened Vivian?

4. What two important people do Marlowe and Ohls meet in chapter 18?

5. What more clues does Marlowe find at Geiger's house?

6. Why does Marlowe not want the Butler to call a taxi?

7. What's Marlowe's excuse for looking for Regan?

8. Describe the Sternwood house

9. What does Marlowe report to the Sternwood's butler?

10. What does Marlowe discover from the dead body?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The women in Chandler's book are mostly negative characters with a lack of morals. Discuss the negative way that Chandler represents women. Was this negative representation common during this period? How does this representation affect his portrayal of the male characters? In what ways would Chandler have to change his portrayal of women for the novel to have the same if it was published today?

Essay Topic 2

The Big Sleep is known as hardboiled crime fiction.

1) What are the conventions of the genre in terms of character, language and plot?

2) In what way did Big Sleep help to set the template for similar novels? Do modern novels still use the ideas used in Big Sleep?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Chandler's life. In what way do you think his life and personality is reflected in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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