Analysis Of The Big Sleep And G.k. Chestertons...

On the Outskirts of Corruption In the world of mystery novels, there are dangers lurking behind every corner, and corruption pumps through the veins of the people and places featured in these novels. In both Raymond Chandler s â€Å"The Big Sleep† and G.K. Chesterton s â€Å"The Innocence of Father Brown† the protagonists act as morally sound characters who have to sort through the various corrupting influences and situations in their own world. Both Philip Marlowe and Father Brown act as the moral compass in their respective novels, one who resists the temptation of corruption, and must work outside of society in order to resolve their cases to their own moral satisfaction. Money has always been a corrupting influence in society – money will drive men to kill, and money will protect those who do. In both â€Å"The Big Sleep† and â€Å"The Innocence of Father Brown† money plays an enormous role in the lives of the protagonists and those they interact with. The idea of the import ance of wealth is introduced early on in â€Å"The Big Sleep† – you first meet Marlowe in the expansive and opulent mansion belonging to the Sternwoods. Marlowe himself comments on the importance of wealth on the first page of the novel: â€Å"I was everything a well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.† (Chandler, 1) Marlowe – a man in a position where he could take advantage – charges General Sternwood a fair price for his services, giving the first indication of his own resistance