Racism as It Relates to the Detective: Marlowe's Negative Stereotypes in 'The Long Goodbye' Leah Katz College

The middle of the twentieth century was rife with racial conflict and movement toward equal rights. Unfortunately, the characters of The Long Goodbye have a tendency to maintain this racist rhetoric that had such a negative impact on 1950’s society and on interracial relations. Phillip Marlowe’s discriminatory behavior towards Mexicans and other people of Latino descent not only exemplifies a popular problematic opinion of the time, but this dependence on stereotypes also perpetuates a problematic theme of racism in noir fiction.

One of the most pointed instances of racist dialogue is Marlowe’s internal thoughts about the appearance of the Mexican man when Menendez surprises him at home. Marlowe said that the man “had a mustache and his head bulged with oily black hair,” which does not paint a particularly favorable image (Chandler 345). Beginning with the facial hair, a mustache often carries a sleazy connotation and is not usually associated with friendly, positive people. While this characteristic could be written off as simply descriptive, the tone implies a deeper significance. Using the word “bulged” is also not the nicest way to describe a person’s head. It projects an image of particularly visible veins and a physical...