Writing 39B: Critical Reading and Rhetoric Final Portfolio

Anthony G. Le
WR 39B Critical Reading and Rhetoric, Section 33229
Bridget Clerkin
Winter 2014

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.1

Cover Letter.2

Annotated Discussion Response, Week 2........................................................................................3

Introduction to Lost in a Library: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.....4
Lost in a Library: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.....5
Works Cited.9

Introduction to Breaking the Norm of Hardboiled Fiction: The Big Sleep by Raymond
Chandler...10
Breaking the Norm of Hardboiled Fiction: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ..11
Works Cited...17

Introduction to Cutthroat: Chapter One by Anthony G. Le...18
Cutthroat: Chapter One by Anthony G. Le19
Works Cited.......26

Annotated Bibliography.27



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Cover Letter
Overall I really enjoyed being in Writing 39B instructed by Bridget Clerkin. I felt that I
learned a great amount of information about noir fiction and how it subverts from detective
fiction and hardboiled fiction. I believe I participated in class a decent amount. Although I may
not always be the first person to share for class discussion in fear of being wrong, I do my best
by contributing during group work and by providing constructive criticism during peer reviews.
Throughout the writing course there was a great amount of peer review. I would get comments
and grammatical corrections and I used them to improve and develop my writing. For example
one comment I received, for my R.I.P. project was regarding my audience where I explained
how my story appealed towards a noir and hardboiled readership, said I could include more
about my audience like what my audience is familiar with and how they can relate to my short
story. For each of my essays I feel that I was able to really attack the prompt and provide
evidence for my contentions, but I still need to iron out my ideas and be clearer of what I am
trying to convey in my essays. Every reading that Bridget assigned was very useful for my work
for the course. With the readings like Noir Fiction is About Losers Not Private Eyes by Otto
Penzler, I was able to understand the genre of noir and how it diverted away from detective
fiction. Using my new understanding of noir fiction I was able to argue how The Big Sleep by
Raymond Chandler was noir fiction, how the novel appealed to hardboiled readers, and inspire
me to write my own noir short story. By doing these essays I feel that I can take this to the real
world and start analyzing why people do the things they do and how people are different towards
different audiences. Although I feel like I improved on how I address the prompt directly I still
feel like I need to develop that skill as I am still very verbose and I get off track in my writing. I
feel like the only way I can improve is by continuing to work on my essays and revising them.
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Discussion Response, Week 2: Using Evidence
1. a. Hardboiled fiction and mystery story were the two main terms that Chandler
himself used to describe his work. (Raskin 88)
b. Raymond Chandler described his own work as a combination of a hardboiled fiction
and a mystery story.
c. The quote here is used in Raskins homage for Raymond Chandler as he describes
what Chandlers would be considered as.
d. I choose this quote as these were the words that Chandler, himself, used to describe his
own work. I would use this quote to use as a basis to say that even Chandler saw that his
work would be considered as a mixture under hardboiled and mystery, which make up
the genre of noir.
2. a. The air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the cloying smell of tropical orchids in
bloom. (Chandler 5)
b. The weather was hot and pressuring all around me.
c. The quote originates from when Marlowe first steps into the greenery to see General
Sternwood.
d. This was one of the first descriptions in the story and it sets up the story to have this
pressurizing feeling and heated vibe which helps me define the book as a noir fiction.

I choose this discussion response because I feel like by doing this discussion I was
working on one of my goals for this course. I know I need to develop my writing skills to be able
to hone my writing to really answer the prompt I am given directly. In this discussion the
assignment was to collect evidence and interpret it for our C.R.R.P. essay. By doing this before
writing my essay I was able to gather my thoughts beforehand and focus on what will help me
answer the prompt.

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Introduction to Lost in a Library: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
For my first draft of my C.R.R.P essay I received a good amount of comments back
saying that I need to continue to elaborate on my contentions. I also received comments and
revisions on my grammar mistakes as well. I felt that the comments to go into my ideas and
elaborate more were the most useful because it was something that helped my context of my
essay. By taking into account that my essay lacked explanation, I worked towards specifying my
ideas therefore working towards answering the prompt. For revision process I would go through
each of the comments and considered if the comment would help me or not, then I would use
that to revise my work. I would elaborate on my contentions and integrate quotes to help support
my ideas as well. For example I had some ideas like how the plot of The Big Sleep starts off with
the Generals yearning to find Rusty Regan. A comment I received was to explore this idea more
and elaborate on it more. I realized that throughout my paper I had other ideas that were good
too, but I would need to explain them more thoroughly. One of my contentions also seemed to
also be written unclearly since the peer reviewer who read my paper thought that it contradicted
my own thesis. As a writer I need to be able to convey my ideas clearly and thoroughly.
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Lost in a Library: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Imagine walking into a large library and strolling around inside watching the towering
shelves rise above you. All the shelves create a labyrinth allowing readers to get lost in the books
they contain and never find their way out. Unable to leave the labyrinth until you find the book
you came for, you look at each shelf, each distinguished by the genre of books each one holds.
You are looking for The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, but within which sections would you
look for it at: noir or hardboiled? While Chandler was describing his own work, he used the
words Hardboiled fiction and mystery story [as] the two main terms that Chandler himself used
to describe his work (Raskin 88), but he never specifically put his work into a genre. According
to Otto Penzler, renowned editor mystery and crime fiction publisher and editor and owner of
The Mystery Bookshop, in his article for the Huffington Post, Noir Fiction is About Losers Not
Private Eyes, he writes, Noir is about losers Noir fiction has its roots in the hard-boiled
private eye story but [noir fiction] also has a character with a moral center (Noir Fiction is
About Losers Not Private Eyes). Through the characters, the interactions, and the events that
occur within the book The Big Sleep, it is clear that novel should be found under the genre of
noir fiction.
Referring back Otto Penzler, there is a difference between hardboiled detective fiction
and noir fiction. Within a hardboiled fiction, There are tough guys in his stories, and lying
dames, and violence, double-crosses, murder and nefarious schemes (Noir Fiction, Not Private
Eyes). In The Big Sleep, there are the tough guys, Eddie Mars and Canino, and lying dames,
Carmen Sternwood. But and this is where the private detective story separates itself from
noirit also has a character with moral center (Noir Fiction, Not Private Eyes) which is seen
as Philip Marlowe, the detective in the novel. Throughout the entire novel, Raymond Chandler
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portrays Philip Marlowe, as a parallel to a chivalrous knight. Though Marlowe may been seen as
a heroic character he in the end is not a hero at all. Marlowe starts off in the beginning of the
book charging only twenty-five [dollars] plus expenses which is considered low considering
all the work Marlowe does and the troubles he encounters for General Sternwood and his family.
Repeatedly in the novel, Marlowe stays genuinely loyal and always keeps the Sternwood family
and the General in mind. For example when Philip Marlowe finds Carmen Sternwood, the
youngest of the two Sternwood sisters, drugged and naked, to take her home before returning
back to the scene of the crime at Geigers home. Marlowe makes sure that as he is doing his
work, that the Sternwood name does not get tainted, similar to how a knight would uphold his
loyalty for his lord, but constantly Philip Marlowe is tested as a hero, but by the end he does not
achieve anything heroic. In one of the scenes as Marlowe discovers Carmen Sternwood naked in
his bed and tells her to leave, he moves around chess pieces and notices The move with the
knight was wrong. I put it back where I had moved it from. Knights had no meaning in this
game (Chandler 98). Though Marlowe was portayed as a knight, he truly isnt one. There are no
moral characters in The Big Sleep which is a hallmark symbol in distinguishing noir fiction from
a hardboiled one.
Even though Philip Marlowe is seem to be such a strong hero and loyal character, he is
put through more than enough hardship for getting involved with the Sternwood family.
According to Penzler, The private eye story is optimistic even if the detective is
notFurthermore, this rather cynical figureunderpaid, disrespected, threatened, shot at, beaten
uphas a code of ethics (Noir Fiction, Not Private Eyes). Otto Penzler was able to describe
in general all the events that happened to Marlowe over the course of The Big Sleep. Marlowe
refuses the extra money that General Sternwood shoves at him and is disrespected by the two
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Sternwood sisters repeatedly as they try to advance on him. The heroic seeming detective is also
threatened, shot at, and physically beaten by several criminals while he tries to solve his case. All
in all, Marlowe became victimized in the web of disaster that is left by the Sternwood sisters.
These sisters only put themselves into a path that inevitably sucks them into a downward spiral
from which they cannot escape (Noir Fiction, Not Private Eyes) pulling everyone with them.
At the end of the novel Marlowe says, Me, I was part of the nastiness now (Chandler, 143)
showing that he acknowledges that he has been sucked into the dark downward spiral that the
Sternwood sisters caused. Even after risking his life and going through struggle after struggle
with the Sternwood girls, Philip Marlowes code of conduct still keeps him in the end to uphold
General Sternwood and his familys name from the corruption of the truth. If the world knew the
truth of what really happens between with the family, the family would lose a great amount of
prominence they already have in society.
Beyond the events and the characters of the book, the interactions between each one
show that The Big Sleep is part of noir fiction. Each one of the characters are all self motived
causing them to reak havoc which Marlowe is able to uncover throughout the plot. Pretty much
everyone in a noir story (or film) is driven by greed, lust, jealousy, or alienation (Noir Fiction,
Not Private Eyes) which eventually all lead them to their own downfall. Mainly in The Big
Sleep, all the characters have lusts for one another, which causes them to act out of it and in turn
causes a chain of predicaments. General Sternwood says to Marlowe I didnt ask you to look
for my son-in-law, Mr. Marlowe and Marlowe replies You wanted me to, though (Chandler
131) shows how Marlowe knew The General wanted to find Rusty Regan since the beginning of
the novel. The plot starts off with the Generals desire to find Rusty Regan, who was murdered
by Carmen Sternwood who was rejected by Rusty when she wanted to sleep with him. Even the
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minor characters like Carol Lundgren, Joe Brody, Arthur Gwynn Geiger, and Owen Taylor
murder each other as they get sucked into the downward spiral due to the actions of Carmen
Sternwood. Overall each of the different characters were pushed by lust causing them to commit
a crime creating a web of disaster.
Now instead of walking towards the hardboiled section of the library, you can surely find
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler waiting for you in the noir fiction section. Looking at the
characters, the events, and the interactions of how each character affected each other in the piece,
Raymond Chandler is able to add a twist to the hardboiled genre to become something new: noir
fiction. As Otto Penzler stated, Noir fiction has its roots in the hardboiled private eye story
(Noir Fiction, Not Private Eyes), but the type of literature itself is distinguishable as its own
genre. Philip Marlowe was perceived as a hero who continually gets tested as one, but in the end
does not succeed. Over the span of the plot, Marlowe gets physically abused and pulled into the
web of destruction and nastiness that the other characters developed.

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Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers, LLC, 2013. Print.
Penzler, Otto. "Noir Fiction is About Losers Not Private Eyes." Huffington Post. Huffington
Post, 10 Aug 2010. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otto-
penzler/noir-fiction-is-about-los_b_676200.html>.

Raskin, Jonah. "The Master of Nasty: A homage to Raymond Chandler." Boom: A Journal of
California. University of California Press, 10 Apr 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2014.



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Introduction to Breaking the Norm of Hardboiled Fiction: The Big Sleep by Raymond
Chandler
For my first draft of the rhetorical analysis on The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler I
received comments on my grammar and also my usage of my evidence. My peer readers felt that
lacked explanation for the quotes and evidence I provided. This was a very important comment I
received since, if my evidence was unable to support my thesis then I would have no argument.
For my revision process I dove back into the comments I received to fix all the grammatical
issues first and then I would go back to my points of analysis and go into depth on my ideas. For
example I received a comment that said, This is present in the quote, so show us and describe
this for a quote I used to support my idea of how Raymond Chandler creates an image of
Marlowe for the readers. Other instances in my essay I also received comments asking me
Describe it exactly, unclear, and connect this back to setting and context. To further on
revise my essay I would continue to dig deeper and perhaps find more evidence that would help
me convey my thesis to my readership. I find it very important that my readers and my audience
are able to understand and comprehend the ideas that I am trying to convey to them. As a writer,
I need to be effective when I am communicating to my readership. Not only does this apply to
my essay, but for future writing courses like Writing 39C and for the rest of my life. In all areas
of my life I need to be able communicate my ideas to others and be able to create arguments that
have evidence that would back up my thoughts.
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Breaking the Norm of Hardboiled Fiction: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Standing out and averting the norm is always a way to get noticed. The superlatives
always seem to be the ones catching attention compared to the all the rest. By creating something
new and going against the status quo, you can make a statement and control the publics
attention. Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep in a way that was able to catch the eyes of
critics and writers around the world. Chandler intentionally plays with the conventions of a
hardboiled fiction novel the norm to and builds a new type of genre that diverts from the normal
detective story. Through the use of rhetorical devices like imagery, setting, and how the novel is
written as a first person narrative, Raymond Chandler intentionally takes hold of what a typical
reader knows about a hardboiled fiction and destroys it to have Chandlers work stand out and
become a masterpiece. By selectively using these rhetorical devices to his advantage, Chandler
was able to be form the new genre we know today as noir fiction.
Starting from the first page of The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler creates an image of a
knight within the mind of his readers. Chandler writes, Over the entrance doors, which would
have let in a troop of Indian elephants, there was a broad stained-glass panel showing a knight in
dark armor rescuing a lady tied to a tree (1) to form a picture of a knight and using that picture
as a comparison to Philip Marlowe. Throughout the plot of the book, Chandler repeatedly refers
back to this image of knights to juxtapose how a knights job would be to saving the maiden and
how Marlowe is here to do the same. In the end though, Marlowe was unable to achieve his goal
making diverting him from looking like a knight. When Marlowe returns back to his apartment
and finds young Carmen Sternwood naked in his bed, he tells her to leave as he plays chess and
says, The move with the knight was wrong. I put it back where I had moved it from. Knights
had no meaning in this game. It wasnt a game for knights (Chandler 98). Raymond Chandler
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uses the idea of noble knights to compare to Marlowe. A knight would have the virtues of being
courageous, moral, merciful, generous, faithful, noble, and hopeful. Chandler is able to show that
Marlowe exemplifies each quality a chivalrous knight that in turn would show Marlowe as a type
of modern day knight. As a knight, Philip Marlowe is able to appeal to a broad general audience
as everyone has this perceived idea of chivalry and knighthood. Although Detective Philip
Marlowe may be a paralleled to a knight, he is also a tragic hero. Continuously Marlowe is tested
as a hero, but in the end Marlowe is unable to neither bring justice for the crimes committed
through the book nor prove himself as a real hero. According to Otto Penzler, the highly
acclaimed editor of mystery fiction in the United States and proprietor of The Mysterious
Bookshop in New York City, writes, [In hardboiled fiction,] a heroic figure stands at the center
of the private eye novel; there are no heroic figures in noir fiction (Noir Fiction is About
Losers, Not Private Eyes). By trying to create a heroic image out of Marlowe, but leaving him
as just another ordinary character, Chandler puts a spin on the genre of hardboiled fiction.
Raymond Chandler directs his efforts towards appealing and gaining the attention of hardboiled
readers who expect a hero within the novel, but gives them a different type of hero to read about.
Like another other author, the imagery and setting Chandler puts all his characters into
and the detail he puts in the setting are major intentional rhetorical choices that appeal towards a
specific audience. Raymond Chandler describes this gloomy and dark world where Marlowe and
these other characters inhabit for a hardboiled readership. As Marlowe explores this world
Chandler creates, it seems to be always dark as the scenes he describes are always at night or
cloudy or raining. In the beginning, as Marlowe walks into the Sternwood residence, Chandler
illustrates a dark picture, It was about eleven oclock in the morning, mid October, with the sun
not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills (1). By constructing this
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picture for readers to imagine, Chandler is also able to establish the dark tone and mood, which
will grow to be known as the dirtiness and nastiness all the characters are caught up in. Chandler
is able to portray realism in the book with the dirtiness and nastiness and how it affects the rich
and not only the poor. In The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler, he writes about
how even, Conan Doyle made mistakes which completely invalidated some of his stories, but
he was a pioneer (Chandler 4). Doyle made Sherlock Holmes unrealistic and diverted his story
away from reality. Raymond Chandler was able to play on the historical context of the book
which can be seen from how the characters act and when the book was written. The book shows
signs of which the Great Depression was a major influence. Chandler shows that how even the
rich also suffered during the Great Depression and not just the working class. With the settings
sense of suspense he creates, Chandler appeals towards the hardboiled audience who expect the
characters to run around mean streets and intentionally attracts those with similar views during
the period of The Great Depression. Hardboiled readers expect hardboiled fiction to be
According to Peter J. Rabinowitz a faculty member at Hamilton College under Comparative
Literature says, Chandler himself criticized the genteel English school for its lack of mimetic
realism (230) which shows that Chandler leaned towards incorporating a more realistic feel
from his works. [Chandler saw] the world not from a country estate but rather from the Los
Angeles of the union busting Merchants and Manufacturers. This background, and the typically
thirties cynicism (Rabinowiz 230) were Raymond Chandlers major inspirations. The influences
of this time period could be seen in Marlowes actions like when he is often seen drinking. For
example when Marlowe meets General Sternwood the first time to be given a new case, General
Sternwood offers Philip Marlowe brandy and allows him to smoke as he lives off other peoples
vices, I lit the cigarette and blew a lungful at him and he sniffed at it like a terrier at a rathole
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(Chandler 6) are from influences like The Great Depression, the mean streets of Los Angeles,
and Prohibition which Chandler uses to allure hardboiled readers and the people during that time
period.
Another rhetorical choice Chandler makes is that his characters are all driven by sex and
lust. Each character of The Big Sleep is motivated to kill another person or lie due to sex and lust.
At the end of the book Chandler has Marlowe confront Vivian Sternwood about her sister and
how he solved the case, Night before last when I got home she was in my apartment. Shed
kidded the manager into letting her in to wait for me. She was in my bed- naked. I threw out on
her ear. I guess maybe Regan did the same thing to her sometime (Chandler 141). Carmen
Sternwood had a strong sexual desire for Rusty Regan, but he had rejected her attempt to give
herself to him. Since Rusty rejected Carmen, she murders him and his death causes a chain of
other deaths due to sex and lust as well. Because Carmen was quite fond of Philip Marlowe like
she was fond of Rusty Reagon, Marlowe connected the dots and was able to uncover the true
culprit. Carmen was the one who started all the nastiness in which Vivian wanted to cover up
from her father and the public. Several other characters like Carol Lundgren shoots Joe Brody
because he thinks he killed Carols lover Arthur Gwynn Geiger who was actually killed by Owen
Taylor who was in love with Carmen Sternwood. All in all, each of the characters were
motivated by lust or sex to cause them to commit a crime which in turn only added to the dirty
nastiness. According to Otto Penzler, Pretty much everyone in a noir story (or film) is driven by
greed, lust, jealousy, or alienation, a path that inevitably sucks them into a downward spiral from
which they cannot escape (Noir Fiction Not Private Eyes). The Big Sleep by Raymond
Chandler was written to appeal towards hardboiled fiction readers as it is a crime fiction, but
Chandlers intuitive rhetorical choices makes the novel of another genre. Chandler uses this
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motive for each of his characters as a connection that sews each person together and to creates a
sense of tension between the characters due to their actions.
Raymond Chandler writes his book as a first person narrative as seen through Philip
Marlowe. As an audience we build trust in Marlowe as a character since he is the lens that we see
all the events unravel in. We see the world Raymond Chandler writes about and we explore it
through Philip Marlowe. Each character we meet is how Marlowe sees them, I sat down on the
edge of a deep soft chair and looked at Mrs. Regan. She was worth a stare. She was trouble. She
was stretched out on a modernistic chaise longue with her slippers off, so I stared at her legs in
the sheerest silk stockings (Chandler 11) are all descriptions of how Marlowe saw Vivian
Sternwood. As the audience reads the book, we can see how Marlowe feels about the other
characters as well. An example of this is when Philip Marlowe chases down and confronts Carol
Lundgren after he shot Joe Brody, You shot the wrong guy, Carol. Joe Brody didnt kill your
queen. Dont kid me, son. The fag gave you one. Youve got a nice clean manly little room in
there (Chandler 63). Philip Marlowe can be seen to be very sexist and homophobic within the
book. Marlowe has this bias towards women and homosexuals that is strongly conveyed in the
book therefore as an audience we are not getting a fair depiction of the characters and events of
the book thus only providing the audience a skewed view of the events that occurred. By having
Marlowe be the narrator of the book though, Chandler is able to have his audience gain some
trust in Marlowe because he is how the audience is linked to this nasty world Chandler writes
about thus setting up the plot twist in the end where Carmen tries to murder Marlowe. With
depictions Marlowe provides the audience of Carmen, the audience already has a sense of evil
and weariness from Carmen Sternwood. Even though Marlowes point of view helps prepare the
reader for the plot via how Marlowe notices the environment he is in and his reactions towards
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other characters, it leaves the book with a lack of moral center towards women and the law for
how biased Marlowe is as a character. And this is where the private detective story separates
itself from noirit also has a character with a moral center (Noir Fiction Not Losers) shows
how Chandler plays with the conventions of hardboiled fiction to make something new for
hardboiled audiences.
Breaking boundaries and breaking norms gained Raymond Chandlers book, The Big
Sleep, recognition and praise from critics and readers today. The rhetorical choices he made
while writing The Big Sleep made it into a new type of genre. Raymond Chandler aimed his
book towards hardboiled fiction readers and gave them the not so typical private detective story.
Hardboiled fiction and mystery story were the two main terms that Chandler himself used to
describe his work (Raskin 88). Raymond Chandler chooses to use rhetorical devices like the
knight symbolism, imagery, setting, the motivations that drove the characters, and writing a first
person narrative to attack a general and hardboiled readership. He subverts what a typical
hardboiled fiction novel is commonly seen as with his choices while writing the book to convey
realism and reality. Overall, all of Raymond Chandlers rhetorical choices lead him to create a
classic piece of work. The Big Sleep was able to capture and puzzle critics and readers over time.

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Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers, LLC, 2013. Print.
Chandler, Raymond. "The Simple Art of Murder." 1950.

Penzler, Otto. "Noir Fiction is About Losers Not Private Eyes." Huffington Post. Huffington
Post, 10 Aug 2010. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otto-
penzler/noir-fiction-is-about-los_b_676200.html>.

Rabinowitz, Peter J. Rats Behind the Wainscoting: Politics, Convention, and Chandler's The Big
Sleep. Texas: University of Texas Press, eBook.

Raskin, Jonah. "The Master of Nasty: A homage to Raymond Chandler." Boom: A Journal of
California. University of California Press, 10 Apr 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2014.



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Introduction to Cutthroat: Chapter One by Anthony G. Le
For my R.I.P. Project I wrote a short noir story and my analysis for it. When I received
my paper back from peer review, similar to my other papers I received many grammatical edits
and comments asking me to elaborate on my work ideas more. I would list things like I would
start manipulating setting symbols and the characters and my peer would ask me What were
some noir elements you use? Noir settings, noir symbols. I found that I could embellish my
ideas a lot more. After I first draft as well I also added more of the process I had while writing
my short story and my concerns I had while writing them. Using the comments I received on my
draft I then went into more detail for my ideas. I added more about my audience and how my
rhetorical choices for the short story would appeal for the venue. I also explained more on the
context like how noir was seen in the rich and the setting. Most importantly I had included
examples of how The Big Sleep would use a certain rhetorical device and therefore able to be
compared to how it was used in my own short story. After doing these drafts I found out that I
really had to plan more before I write. By my making decisions and mapping out what things to
write before it was a lot easier to write compared to simply sitting down and letting my
imagination flow. I also found out after my drafts and my other essays that the revisions and peer
editing part of the writing process is very important, as I tend to have tunnel vision while writing
my essay and another point of view is needed to improve my writing. I usually do not notice that
I do not elaborate enough on my ideas or maybe when I do, it is quite confusing.
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Cutthroat: Chapter One by Anthony G. Le
The room was elegant and the people were dancing around with no care in the world,
however an eerie feeling loomed throughout the night. Chandeliers illuminated the room and the
most scrumptious foods were served on the finest China. Leon Carter was aloof as he strolled
amongst the richest of the rich and the famous of the famous in England as if he was one of
them. The outside world was raining and dark and no one at the party seemed to care; they were
all at the hottest party of the year. Each year Jared Parker, a millionaire, would put together an
elegant party and everyone who was somebody would come yet. Jared Parker would hold a ball
in commemoration of his company, Bancorp. No one would receive an invitation to the party,
but everyone would simply just attend. If you had money and power you were automatically on
the guest list automatically. Carter, though, had an invitation himself, one signed by Parker
himself. As he walked around the party he asked other guests where he would find Parker, but he
was not to be found. Carter was approached by a tall man with a wide smirk.
The man introduced himself, Why hello there. What a delightful party this is, is it not?
Carter, Yes, I am enjoying myself quite well.
Why, old chap, I have not seen you at one of Parkers parties before. You must be new.
Yeah I guess you can say that.
Well my name is Mason Hyde, business man and entrepreneur of Omcorps. And you
are?
My name is Leon Carter, thats all. Just Leon Carter.
Mason replied Why, you arent a business man yourself?
Suddenly a butler approached Carter and said, Im sorry to disturb you two gentlemen,
but Mr. Carter, but Mr. Parker would like your presence in the study.
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Old chap you go ahead and we will continue chatting later! Mason said as Leon shook
his hand and followed the butler down into a hallway.
The two walked deeper into the darkness of the magnificence mansion. Leon kept
thinking of Mason Hyde and how he kept calling him old chap. Carter hardly knew the guy and
all he wanted to do was talk business. The boisterous sounds of the party started to drown out as
they kept on going farther down the hall. Eventually the butler opened what seemed to just be
one out of million doors and Carter stepped in.
The man inside said, Why I hope you are enjoying the party Mr. Carter. You must
forgive me for taking you away from it. My name is Jared Parker. As he held out his hand.
Oh no, you mustnt worry about that. Im quite puzzled though.
And what is there to be puzzled about? he replied.
Well may I ask why am I here? Why was I invited to your party compared to everyone
else? I am no business man. I dont fit in here.
You are quite perceptive arent you, Detective? And that is what I need. I need you to
help me; I know you are good at what you do. You make problems disappear and I need you to
make mine disappear. I will pay you as much as you want. Pleaded Parker.
How did you know I was a detective?
I heard about you through the grapevine. Like your case a few months ago. I know you
got the Prime Minister out of a rut, but the public did not know anything about that did they? I
need you to keep this down low to. My company can not handle such a scandal. Please I am
begging you.
And what is your problem? Carter replied.
"# %$
Parker looked at the detective happy that he will take the case. There is a man outside at
the party who has been more of than a pain to me. His name, Mason Hyde. He is trying to black
mail me. Here this is what he sent.
Jared opens up a drawer in his desk and takes out a letter that demands 100,000,000 be
wired to his account by tomorrow night. Alongside the letter were photos of a naked woman.
Jared points at the photo, Isnt she beautiful? My wife, Katrina. These photos cannot get
leaked. Katrina and I live a very private life. Yet this creep was able to get ahold of these photos.
Ill pay you a quarter of the ransom for your work. I invited you today because I knew he would
be here and I want you to stop him.
Leon walked out trying to find what he could do. He didnt want to simply just walk up
to Hyde and he couldnt just arrest Hyde for blackmailing. As Carter was walking down the hall
he heard a door open and Mason Hyde coming out of the room. Hyde looked around as if
something bad just happened and ran towards the party and disappeared. Leon rushed to the
room Hyde came out of and went in. There was not a stir in the room, but behind the bed was a
hand. Slow he walked by the bed; there was a woman dead. Looking closer, the woman was Mrs.
Parker. Carter looked around for a murder weapon. Her throat was cut and as she lay as there
was blood spewing out of the slit slowly creating a red stream. But why? Why was she dead?
Why would Hyde kill Katrina Parker? Storming off he left the body and went back to the party.

"# %%
Cutthroat: Chapter Two Summary
After Detective Leon Carter discovers Katrina Parkers dead body he walks back into the
party in search for Mason Hyde. Carter is able to find Hyde drunk sitting at the bar taking shot
after shot. He takes Mason to a quiet room and points a gun to Mason. Mason Hyde wasnt like
he was before. He was less proper, less put together, less pushy. Instead Hyde was very
depressed. Confused Carter doesnt understand why Mason was sad. Leon questions Hyde about
Katrinas death and finds out that he loved her. Hyde continues to drink and lose himself over the
death of his lover. Carter discovers Katrina was having an affair with Hyde. Rambling on Hyde
exclaims how Katrina did not even love Jared and that one day he would not only be better than
Jared, but own him. Mason Hyde eventually ends up falling asleep from being sad so Carter goes
back to the scene of the crime. There he sees that Mr. Parker has discovered his wife dead yet
has no real emotion for what he has just discovered. Carter concludes that Jared Parker may
actually be the murderer of his wife Katrina. Walking back out to the party to try to see if there
was any common back at the party. He sees that everyone is still having a grand time unaware
that there was a murder occurred in the mansion and walks back. Sitting there in the room though
was Jared nonchalantly. Parker asks Carter to sit down and he reveals that he was the one that
killed his wife and tried to frame Mason Hyde for the murder. It was true though that Hyde was
trying to extort money from Parker and was also having and affair with his wife which only gave
Parker more reason to try to get rid of both of them. Unsure of what was happening Carter stood
up speechless. Parker continues to talk about his plan. He hired Leon Carter to come and go
arrest Hyde, but now Carter just seems to be useless and Jared feels that Leon simply knows too
much now. Parker stands up with the knife he slit his wifes throat with and the scene ends.

"# %&
Rhetoric In Practice Project: Cutthroat An Analysis
Unlike Raymond Chandler who chose specific rhetorical devices to stand out, I decided
to use similar choices to mimic a noir fiction. Chandler chose certain points in his novel that
were commonly seen within hardboiled fiction and twisted them to make something new. By
doing so he was able to appeal a hardboiled readership, but was creating a whole new genre
himself. For my rhetoric in practice project, I wrote a short story that would be sent to a detective
fiction editor or publisher to become a book itself. I would hope that my short story would go to
an academic readership that is familiar with noir fiction. If they are familiar with noir fiction
most likely they would of read The Big Sleep and The Great Gatsby as they are both very well
known titles. The story may not be fully developed and may have a long way to go before
becoming a published piece of work, but is intended to convey an interesting noir story like
Raymond Chandlers The Big Sleep. By gathering inspirations from my own readings and
imagination I wrote an introductory chapter to Cutthroat in hopes to portray a noir/ hardboiled
detective fiction.
Just like The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler I tried setting a dark setting. On the first
page of The Big Sleep, as Detective Marlowe enters into the Sternwood residence, Raymond
Chandler draws a dark picture within the minds of his reader, It was about eleven oclock in the
morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of
the foothills (1). Within Cutthroat, I put into a setting where there is a party but an odd
looming tension that lies in the air. By putting it in that setting I had hopes that it would create a
dark eerie foreshadowing for readers to expect something dramatic to happen. I also pulled
inspirations from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as it also had influences from 1920s
when the Great Depression was occurring. For example I take the rich party setting as my main
"# %'
setting. I felt that by using ideas like Fitzgeralds and Chandlers I would be able to mimic a
draft of a novel. Overall I used a dark setting to appeal to what a typical detective fiction novel
would be placed at and showed the ignorance of the rich. All the events happen are at the party
and no one seems to notice Katrina Parkers death or the tension in the air.
Yet another rhetorical choice I aimed to include was symbolism and repetition. The title
of the short story is Cutthroat that is continuously seen through the work. Businessmen are
very cutthroat and manipulative to get what they want. Jared Parker creates an elaborate plan to
get rid of both his wife and her lover. At the same time Mason Hyde attempted to get money
from Jared Parker before he would run away with Katrina. Jared also killed Katrina, his wife, by
cutting her throat. Multiple times the idea of cutthroat was present in the piece. By cutting
Katrinas throat, it was also a symbol for how dangerous wealth can be.
According to Otto Penzler, a highly acclaimed editor in detective fiction, Pretty much
everyone in a noir story (or film) is driven by greed, lust, jealousy, or alienation, a path that
inevitably sucks them into a downward spiral from which they cannot escape (Noir Fiction Not
Private Eyes). In Cutthroat I had the characters do what they did for either greed or lust. Jared
Parker framed Mason Hyde because he was having an affair with his wife and wanted to get rid
of both of them. Similar to the Sternwoods in The Big Sleep, the rich were all driven by one of
these ideas. In both Fitzgeralds and Chandlers work, they wrote the plot around the rich who
may not be seen to be affected by the Great Depression, but truly are. For my short story I also
tried mimicking what they did by showing how the rich were ignorant of the outside world but
were ultimately affected by it. In addition Penzler states, [In hardboiled fiction,] a heroic figure
stands at the center of the private eye novel; there are no heroic figures in noir fiction (Noir
Fiction is About Losers, Not Private Eyes). Even though Leon Carter was set as this character
"# %(
who is suppose to fix everything and be the light of justice, he is unable to stop anything. Carter
is not a real hero, leaving my short story without a heroic figure. Leon Carter throughout the
whole plot was unable to do anything, but instead he was caught up with all the nastiness that
Jared Parker creates. Carter is powerless and is far from being heroic. By including these ideas
like this I continue to try to appeal towards noir fiction readers.
Using similar rhetorical choices and decisions like those of my previous readings I was
able to create a model that mimicked a noir fiction story. By using influences like Raymond
Chandler and F. Scott Fitzgerald, I set up a basis for a crime fiction. I started off by collecting
different ideas for the short story like and idea for a setting and character names. Initially I
thought I could sit down and write a short story as my imagination filled the paper, but I soon
found myself taking out a white board and trying to connect characters to each other and the
conflicts they encounter. As I tried mapping out the events in my plot I wanted to manipulate
symbols and the characters to aim towards appealing to a noir/ hardboiled fiction readership just
like Raymond Chandler. With these choices in mind I hope that maybe my decisions will
connect to the readers so a publisher would be willing to publish my book.

"# %)
Works Cited
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers, LLC, 2013. Print.
Chandler, Raymond. "The Simple Art of Murder." 1950.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.

Penzler, Otto. "Noir Fiction is About Losers Not Private Eyes." Huffington Post. Huffington
Post, 10 Aug 2010. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otto-
penzler/noir-fiction-is-about-los_b_676200.html>.

Rabinowitz, Peter J. Rats Behind the Wainscoting: Politics, Convention, and Chandler's The Big
Sleep. Texas: University of Texas Press, eBook.

Raskin, Jonah. "The Master of Nasty: A homage to Raymond Chandler." Boom: A Journal of
California. University of California Press, 10 Apr 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2014.


"# %*
Bibliography
Cassuto, Leonard. "Reality Catches Up to Highsmith's Hardboiled Fiction." The Chronicle of
Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 20 Febuary 2004. Web. 13 Mar
2014. <http://chronicle.com/article/Reality-Catches-Up-to/8824/>.

Leonard Cassuto, Professor at Fordham University, writes about Patricia Highsmith and
how her hardboiled fiction was way before her time. He writes an article in The Chronicle of
Higher Education. Using history and Highsmiths work he is able to support this thesis. Cassuto
writes towards others who are interested in hardboiled fiction and Patricia Highsmith as she was
a writer beyond the her times.

Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers, LLC, 2013. Print.

Chandler, Raymond. "The Simple Art of Murder." 1950.

Cormie, Janice. Detective and Villain: Philip Marlowe's Construction of Nemesis. Crimeculture,
n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014

Janice Cormie, student at Birkbeck College and currently the Head of Services at British
Psychoanalytic Council, writes about how The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is about a hero
that has conflicts with himself. In the article she analyzes Carmen Sternwood as a character to
show her metal problems within the novel. Janice Cormie uses her psychoanalysis to talk about
Carmen is corrupted. Cormie writes towards an audience who is not as familiar to
psychoanalysis to understand the novel better.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print

Rabinowitz, Peter J. Rats Behind the Wainscoting: Politics, Convention, and Chandler's The Big
Sleep. Texas: University of Texas Press, eBook.

Peter J. Rabinowitz, a faculty member at Hamilton College under the Comparative
Literature department, argues that how Raymond Chandler breaks the norm of the typical
hardboiled detective genre in Raymond Chandlers book The Big Sleep. Rabinowitz writes an
academic argument for the book analyzing literature and language. With the use of evidence
from Chandler's work and comparing them to evidence found in Agatha Christie's work, Murder
in the Calais Coach, Rabinowitz is able to support his thesis. He writes towards a general set of
students and other writers who are also analyzing Raymond Chandler's work.

Penzler, Otto. "Noir Fiction is About Losers Not Private Eyes." Huffington Post. Huffington
Post, 10 Aug 2010. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otto-
penzler/noir-fiction-is-about-los_b_676200.html>

Otto Penzler, the man regarded to be the foremost authority on crime, mystery and
suspense fiction, writes about the fine distinction between noir fiction and hardboiled fiction.
Penzler writes an article published on the Huffington Post website. With his extensive experience
"# %+
with mystery and crime fiction and references to critically acclaimed authors like Raymond
Chandler, Penzler creates the boundary between noir fiction and hardboiled crime fictions.
Penzler writes to students, other writers, and a general audience who still have a difficult time
distinguishing between the genres.

Raskin, Jonah. "The Master of Nasty: A homage to Raymond Chandler." Boom: A Journal of
California. University of California Press, 10 Apr 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2014.