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.

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 d

escribes 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.

All in all Marlowe is dependent on alcohol to get through his days. If he is working he will find a way or excuse to drink alcohol. For various reasons ranging from boredom to helping him cope with job related stress, Marlowe turns to alcohol. He showed some form of both physical and psychological dependence of alcohol. In one situation he needed alcohol to help him get the rest he needed, cause he could not go to sleep (Physical Dependence). Alcohol helps him relax, even while at work, where he drinks socially or simply for the reason that he is bored. Marlowe's life functions around and off of alcohol, and sometimes turns violent towards weaker people usually women after drinking. He does not care what people think about him, and he does not care about other people. Which is expressed by his drinking, and driving, and abuse of women. Or if he continues to live life around alcohol he will end up in "The Big Sleep."

Moreover Marlowe's job in reality is stressful, as an investigator, Marlowes drinking problem does not interfere, and he make

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Approximate Word count = 841
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)