Moral Ambiguity and Authorial Intrusion in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep

Abstract

The research paper makes connection between the authorial moral intent and itsprojectionthrough characters in the novel,The Big Sleep. It studies the characterization and the author’s intension in thecreationof characters, from the perspective of morality. Immanuel Kantand George Simmel’s views on moral authority have been used; in particular, Kant’s assertion of “universalized moral act” and Simmel’s idea of “overwhelming social forces as one of the deepestproblem of modern life.” The study demonstrates how the fear of alienation guides the human cognitive faculty. Alienation leading to immoral act in the novel is something identical to the author’s personal life. Hence, the research argues thatThe Big Sleepis Chandler’s defense againstmoral transgression, specially the offence to his sexual behavior.