A Brief Analysis of the Main Character Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye

Abstract

This paper is to interpret the main character's image in The Long Goodbye written by Raymond Chandler. It discusses this novel from three perspectives: the main character's characteristics, the relationship between the author and the main character. This thesis points out: the personality of Philip Marlowe was greatly affected by both Raymond Chandler's personal experience and the social circumstance at that time. In this paper, the author mainly applied "Text Analysis" to interpret the image of Philip Marlowe. The body of this thesis consists of three parts: Part one shows the relationship between Raymond Chandler and Philip Marlowe. He describes himself as "an unbecoming mixture of outward difference and inward arrogance". He was a soldier and experienced World War One. Suffered from miseries and loneliness, he considers himself always living on the edge of nothingness. We can clearly see Raymond Chandler's features from the main character Philip Marlowe. Part Two gets a deep insight into Philip Marlowe's characteristics. As a detective, Philip Marlowe shows a tough guy image. He is brave and devotes himself to saving others. At the same time, he isolates himself from the busy urban social life, which represents his loneliness. Part Three analyses deep connotations of the image of Philip Marlowe. From the perspective of the individual, he is the one who saves the people in misery and struggles to achieve his dream; from the perspective of the society, he is a product of the current environment. Under the influence of comprehensive factors, he became a "tough guy" detective.