The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler The importance of setting in 'The Big Sleep'

Discuss the importance of the setting, or milieu, in The Big Sleep. Throughout The Big Sleep, Chandler is not concerned solely with the solution of the murders, the 'whodunit' aspect; he also focuses a great deal on the world created by the story, and the actions of Marlowe in that world. Characters throughout the novel display or comment on the sordid nature of the city of Los Angeles and the modern life it encourages. The …

…a synonym for being "painfully" poor. Chandler's highly detailed descriptions of settings allow him to express what could not be said by speech alone. An extra level of detail can bee observed once aspects of the setting, such as weather or standards of living, are examined closely. The setting can help express emotion in a novel concerned with characters that are not used to, and should not be looked upon as secondary to the speech.