The Big Sleep: Writing StyleHow can I humble myself? I can write about Raymond Chandler's style. I'm amazed that anyone can write in a style that seems almost natural. No, it seems completely simple. Skimming through this book is very simple. There are no seams. Chandler's "hard-boiled" style, characters and story are completely consistent. All the elements seem perfectly placed. The narrator and the interesting use of figurative language contribute to the unity of the text. First, the narrator sets the mood of the text. He is a character, an agent in the action of the story. It fits perfectly. He's a really "cool" guy, Marlowe. I imagine him sitting in a thick green leather chair in a small, dingy, dimly lit room, slowly puffing on a cigarette (watching the ash grow), shaking a drink in his other hand, and telling the story concisely and naturally. pace of his speech &emdash; street talk. It's super casual. He upholds his law; It's not bad, it's not even good. He's relaxed. He's a crafty guy &emdash; he knows people. He does not always follow the law, but he fights scoffers. It's the underground American style of Sherlock. He's a ladies' man. He's in control. It's one on the Richter scale. He is gentle enough to express fantastic figurative language with great ease. There is no shortage of similarities in this book. Sometimes Chandler decorates a page with more than four. They stand out. Similes are the scent of the flower. The only circumstance where you can't find any similarities on a page is if the page is full of dialogue. Chandler's similes work in interesting ways in his text &emdash; they seem to be the only art in his concise style. Some of his similes are almost silly, so they really stand out from the casual tone of the text; “his neck stuck out from [the cloak] like a celery stalk” (25). Still others are beautiful and create very strong images like those in chapter twenty-six when Marlowe follows Henry Jones. Marlowe picked a lock and "there was a sharp click, as if a small icicle were breaking.