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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Marlowe ask Carmen to shoot at?

2. Where in his car has Marlowe hidden his pistol?

3. Who does Canino want to find?

4. Who is Mona Grant married to?

5. How much money does Sternwood offer Marlowe to find Regan?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Big Sleep is a famous book which has greatly influenced modern literature. Choose a book written after the novel that you think was influenced by it and discuss there similarities in terms of:

a) plot

b) character

c) themes.

Essay Topic 2

The Big Sleep is written in the first person and with Marlowe as narrator. Why do you think Chandler chose to write the story in the first person? How do you think the meaning of the story would of changed if it was written in the third person?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 235 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample