The Role of Marlowes Excessive Drinking :: essays research papers

The Role of Marlowe's Excessive Drinking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book 'The Big Sleep'; the character Marlowe is a detective working in Criminal Justice. This job seems to bring about a lot of stress to Marlowe, and in order to cope; he turns to drinking which relaxes him. Although he is an alcoholic he still is able to function and get his investigations done. He is a functional alcoholic who abuses alcohol constantly and has a great desire for it for various reasons. Some of the reasons that may be directly linked to Marlowe's abuse of alcohol boredom, psychological and or physical dependence and sometimes he drinks casually and socially. But job- related stress is the main reason Marlowe turns to alcohol because there are times he is able to drink on the job, drinking helps him relax and cope with his job-related stress, and alcohol is the agent that helps him deal with those problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the reasons that may cause Marlowe to turn to alcohol is his job. His job as an investigator sometimes turns stressful and alcohol helps him relax and get his mind off the job. Dealing with people and criminals constantly through out the day on the job can be stressful. Besides the fact that he must deal with Carmen's craziness, as the author describes her to be. Marlowe at one moment states 'I went to bed full of whiskey and frustration.'; This shows us that he drinks to help deal with the frustration he goes through and whiskey helps him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Often times Marlowe drinks while working. Usually when socializing with someone. In a conversation with Eddie Mars Marlowe says 'I made myself a drink and was drinking it when the phone rang.'; In another situation while talking to Carmen he mentioned that he is going to go mix himself a drink and offers her one as well. After saying yes, Carmen and Marlowe drink together. This is all taking place while Marlowe is on the job, again drinking to get his mind off of other things and relax. This shows that Marlowe is not just a social or casual drinker, he is an alcoholic and has some form of dependency to alcohol, not to mention a great tolerance as well. Marlowe recognizes this and drinks in front of people, with people while along, and he mentioned he doesn't care if anyone knows. When people are vulnerable Marlowe offers drinks and in most situations finds himself a drinking partner.