I guess Doug is claiming that Marlowe
may not have looked "blue collar," but he really was, because
"most Americans saw him that way. I'll have to pass on what
most Americans think or thought, but the text sure doesn't
read working class. Doug also dismisses Martini's no name guy
because he hates him, and he brings Elvis and Spenser into
the working class group because they're descendents of
Marlowe. I agree with the notion that all of these guys are
hard-boiled but I think it's really a stretch to call any of
them working class or blue collar. I guess I also don't see
the value in the classification. Spade and Marlowe and Hammer
and Spenser and Hawk and many other hard-boiled guys see
themselves as better, smarter, tougher, and more righteous
than most mortals, working class people included.
Jim D. suggests Marlowe saw himself
as some kind of working class cop, but I think Marlowe would
have scoffed at such a notion. Archer saw himself as "set
apart," but Marlowe was "above it all" most of the time, and
his chumminess with and affection for Terry Lennox is enough
to ban him from the world of working class stiffs for
life.
Jim
Blue
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