> kerry says:
> I always caught a whiff of yearning behind Spade and
Marlowe's cynicism,
as
> if that quality had been hard earned and there was
at least a possibility
> the lessons would need repeating. All that yammer
about a code of honour
> too, a set of rules to make sense of the world and a
man's place in it; if
> that isn't sentimental, I don't know what
is.
>
> Tough guys are the most sentimental of
characters.
I think that's what makes these guys interesting. IMO, if
they were truly hard-boiled and there was no chance of any
sentiment to seep through, there'd be no mystery, because
we'd always know what was coming next. They'd be robots,
which are not compelling because they're utterly predictable.
.
I'm re-reading "The Long Goodbye" now and there's countless
occasions when Marlow is offered money for his services and
thus far has refused it every time. And this is the guy's
business! Also, sharing a gimlet and a smoke with an absent
Terry Lennox. If that isn't sentimental, I don't know what
is. Even Marlowe admits it to himself then shrugs it
off.
Brad
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