The Corruption of Society Theme Analysis

Raymond Chandler’s crime noir novel The Big Sleep deals with the dark underbelly of L.A. society. As private detective Philip Marlowe digs ever deeper into this grim world to find out who is blackmailing one of his clients, he becomes increasingly disgusted with what he uncovers. This is not only because of the illegal activities he finds embedded throughout every level of society, but also because of all the supposedly respectable figures he discovers are involved in these activities. The novel implicates senior public figures and social organizations in L.A.’s criminal underworld, including rich businessmen, the police, and the newspapers, who have not only turned a blind eye to such corruption, but have become active participants in it. With the absence of honest leaders, corruption has become so entrenched that it operates in plain sight, with criminal activity occurring even on the “main drag” of town. Through Marlowe’s investigations, The Big Sleep seeks to illustrate the extent of the moral decay in modern American life as the product of a lack of personal responsibility and integrity.

Marlowe notes repeatedly that even those at the top of society are indicated in the city’s shady underworld, regardless of the ways in which they may seek to wash their hands of it; wealth does not equal respectability. This is illustrated by Marlowe’s first meeting Mrs. Regan, his wealthy client’s beautiful daughter. Marlowe notes, “The drapes lay in heavy ivory folds beside her feet” as she “looked out [the window], towards the quiet darkish foothills.” Mrs. Regan appears physically distant from the grim oilfields below as she sits in her “ivory” upper sitting room. This early symbolism of a corrupt individual in a pristine, pure environment far from the dirt below lays the groundwork for later revelations that condemn Mrs. Regan’s character—namely, that she drinks too much, gambles other people’s money, and has even covered up the murder of her husband Rusty.

Later, Marlowe runs into his client’s younger daughter, Carmen Sternwood, at the home of pornographic photographer Arthur Geiger, whose murder Carmen had witnessed the night before while naked and intoxicated. Describing her as a “pretty, spoiled and not very bright little girl who had gone very, very wrong, and nobody was doing anything about it,” Marlowe does not see Carmen’s impropriety as her failure alone, but also that of the responsible figures in her life who are not guiding her effectively. For example, District Attorney Taggart Wilde, an influential friend of General Sternwood, keeps the supposedly respectable family’s name out of the newspapers after Geiger’s murder. Despite doing do, he notes Carmen “ought not to be running around loose,” adding “I blame the old man for that.” Here, Chandler draws a parallel to the fact society’s leaders have neglected their responsibilities, including Wilde himself for covering up the family’s misdeeds.

Marlowe later uses the same wording, admonishing Mrs. Regan for allowing Carmen to “run around loose,” even though she knows her sister is mentally unwell and violent. Marlowe’s accusation further underlines these parallel responsibilities toward family members and society: without clear guidance and accountability, society will tend toward self-serving indecency, moral corruption, and decay.

Only a thin veil keeps such immoral activity out of view from wider society, Marlowe realizes, and the novel emphasizes that those tasked with the city’s wellbeing, primarily the police, are often to blame. When Marlowe describes Geiger’s pornography outlet at the center of his blackmailing case to Wilde, for instance, he asserts that the police are neglecting their duties by “allowing” the illegal store to run in the open. His reference to the police’s “own reasons” for this negligence directly implicates the cops in the city’s lawlessness. In this way, the novel argues that modern America’s slip into moral degradation has much to do with the lack of effective law enforcement. Marlowe further tells Wilde the police “hide” such illegal activity “every other day, to oblige their friends or anybody with a little pull.” He alleges that these public servants subvert the law according to their own motivations and for their own benefit. Thus, Chandler shows how those with the power to stamp out criminality are implicit in society’s lawlessness.

The free press is another body charged with standing for truth and justice—yet, in the novel, it instead publishes lies, leaving society’s corruption unchallenged. Marlowe reads “all three of the morning papers” the day after his meeting with Wilde. The papers keep the Sternwoods out of the story, and praise the police for arresting the murderer, even though Marlowe was the one who had detained the suspect before the police even knew there was a murder. Marlowe’s sneering judgment of the morning papers’ lies emphasizes this is not a one-time cover-up, but an institutional failure. The papers also mention that “There would be no inquest,” according to Marlowe, presumably given the high-ranking names involved in the messy case. Through this, Chandler shows that without a morally upright press, the truth of modern society’s corruption cannot be uncovered and addressed.

The Big Sleep thus presents a disturbing vision of American society falling ever deeper into moral decay, and Chandler points the finger of blame squarely at those tasked with upholding American decency. Society has gone wayward because of the lack of oversight and enforcement among families, journalists, the police, and by extension, the government at large. Everyone in the story, across all strata of society, has dirt on their hands, suggesting that few are left to stand up to protect proper American values.