Research the hard-boiled and noir genres. How does Chandler originate the tropes that became genre staples? Which character types, plot details, prose styling, and other features of the novel mark it as belonging to this genre?

Compare two or three characters’ rooms. What do these environments say about their personalities and motivations? How does Chandler use description of interiors as a characterization technique?

Consider authority in the novel. Where does power come from, and how is it wielded by those who have it. How do the rich exercise power? The police? Criminals? Marlowe?