PENGUIN READERS Level 6 The Long Goodbye (Factsheets).pdf

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

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T e a c h e r ’s n o t e s

The Long Goodbye

by Raymond Chandler

ADVANCED

S U M M A R Y

he Long Goodbye, published in 1953, is the last

but one of Raymond Chandler’s seven novels

featuring the legendary private detective Philip Marlowe.

Marlowe gets into trouble through his friendship with

Terry Lennox, whose wife, Sylvia, is the daughter of

multimillionaire newspaper publisher Harlan Potter. He

helps Lennox escape across the border to Mexico as

Lennox is suspected of having murdered Sylvia. The case

seems closed when Lennox is reported dead, having

signed a confession and committed suicide, but Marlowe

does not believe he was guilty and continues to

investigate despite being threatened by the police,

Lennox’s gangster friends and Potter.

Meanwhile, Marlowe has been hired to trace a missing

alcoholic best-selling writer, Roger Wade, and having

found him, becomes involved in the Wades’ life and

marriage. Wade had been one of Sylvia Lennox’s lovers

and is afraid he may have killed her while drunk. When

Wade in turn is found dead, Mrs Wade accuses Marlowe

of murder. But the police accept a verdict of suicide,

though Marlowe’s old friend, Bernie Ohls, suspects Mrs

Wade.

The truth lies in the past. Was there a connection

between Mrs Wade and Terry Lennox? And is Terry really

as dead as everyone seems to believe?

C h a n d l e r’s reputation grew he wrote successful

screenplays in Hollywood and the film of The Big Sleep

made him famous.

The Long Goodbye , Chandler’s crowning achievement,

was written under extreme stress as he became

increasingly dependent on alcohol and was nursing his

wife in her last illness. Before he died in 1959, however, he

was recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as the

outstanding writer of detective stories of his generation.

B A C K G R O U N D A N D T H E M E S

During the 1930s and 1940s Raymond Chandler

transformed the detective story into a serious art form.

Most previous detective stories were like a kind of puzzle,

featuring an amateur detective proud of his powers of

deduction in solving crimes, but in Chandler’s novels, the

crimes are much more realistic and are solved by

professionals like the famous ‘private eye’ he himself

created, Philip Marlowe.

Chandler lived in Los Angeles and drew on this

background to create the atmosphere of his novels. In this

society, the rich and famous often lived lives constantly

t h reatened by scandal and characters from the

underworld. This was because the rich and famous often

had very humble pasts, and were afraid that the gangsters

would expose this. The gangsters had become rich and

powerful through selling alcohol during the years of the

prohibition (when alcohol was banned in the years after

the First World War) and had afterwards moved into

drugs. In the novels Chandler had written before The Long

Goodbye , he stresses these relationships and also the

effect this had on the law since the police were often

brutal and corrupt.

The Long Goodbye does not begin as usual with a quest

for a missing person – Marlowe is not asked to look for

Roger Wade until Chapter 5 – but with an act of kindness,

when Marlowe rescues the polite drunk, Terry Lennox,

and afterwards takes him to Mexico. The solution to the

mystery in the book lies in relationships formed during the

Second World War (1939–45) and one of the main themes

of the book is comradeship. Marlowe cannot let Lennox

down because he is a friend, and after Lennox’s apparent

A B O U T R A Y M O N D C H A N D L E R

Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in the USA in

1888, the son of an American father and Anglo-Irish

mother, but after their divorce he came to England and

grew up in London. He worked as a civil servant and

wrote book reviews and poetry before emigrating to

California in the USA in 1912. After service with the

Canadian forces in the First World War (1914–18), he

returned to America and married Cissie Pascal, who was

many years older than he was. He became a successful

businessman with an oil company but was sacked in

1932.

While Chandler was out of work, he started to write

detective stories for a magazine. This led to the

publication of his first novel, The Big Sleep , in 1939. The

Big Sleep introduced the character of Philip Marlowe. As

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P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

T e a c h e r ’s n o t e s

death, he learns that Lennox saved the lives of two

comrades in the war and these men, even though they are

gangsters, believe they owe him a debt and are bound to

help him.

A second main theme in the book is corruption. In this

post-war world it is no longer a simple matter of

policemen taking bribes and beating people up. American

institutions are themselves called into question. Because

law officers are elected, politics enters into everything,

and a newspaper owner like Potter can influence the

course of justice. As Endicott, the lawyer Potter employs,

tells Marlowe (p.17) ‘The law is not justice. It’s just a half-

broken machine’.

Chandler put a lot of himself into this novel. Like Lennox

he had fought courageously in a war (the First World War).

Like Roger Wade, he was struggling to finish a book

despite getting drunk and, like Wade, ‘blacking out’ and

not remembering what he had done. Like Marlowe, his

ideal projection of himself, he felt he was getting old. Most

fictional detectives remain the same age in the same time

or place but Chandler, himself over 60 by now, had made

Marlowe age with the books, so he is now 42. But the

book is as perfectly plotted as any of his earlier stories

and contains a much greater variety of characters and a

brilliant surprise ending.

Group As write a list of questions that the journalist,

Morgan, would like to ask the following about the murder

of Sylvia Lennox and the death of Terry Lennox: Harlan

Potter, Sewell Endicott and Sergeant Green.

Group Bs play the parts of Harlan Potter, Sewell Endicott

and Sergeant Green.

Put each Group A with a Group B. Group As take it in

turns to be the journalist. Group Bs answer as truthfully as

possible.

Chapters 5–6

Put students into small groups. Ask them to discuss how

the following people relate to each other. Do they like one

another?

Roger and Eileen Wade; Doctor and Mrs Loring;

Marlowe and Roger Wade; Marlowe and Eileen Wade.

Then, in pairs, students role-play conversations after the

party. They are (a) Roger and Eileen Wade; (b) Dr and Mrs

Loring.

Chapters 7–9

Put students into groups of three people. Name each

group A or B. Put an A group with a B group.

Group As must write down the reasons Bernie Ohls has

for thinking that Roger Wade did not commit suicide, and

a list of questions he would like to ask Marlowe, Eileen

Wade and Candy. Then they take turns to play the part of

Ohls.

Group Bs play the parts of Marlowe, Eileen Wade and

Candy. Marlowe tells the truth, the others must give an

account of what happened to suit themselves.

Chapters 10–12

In the United States, law officers like the Sheriff are

elected democratically by popular vote. Put students into

groups of three or four. Ask them to discuss whether they

think this is a good system. Then ask them to debate the

advantages and disadvantages compared to the more

usual system in other countries.

C o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s

The following teacher-led activities cover the same

sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader,

and supplement those exercises. For supplementary

exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the

photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet.

These are primarily for use with class readers but, with the

exception of discussion and pair/group work questions,

can also be used by students working alone in a self-

access centre.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

Ask students to discuss these questions in small groups.

(a) What do you think happened to Terry Lennox

afterwards?

(b) Marlowe is now 42 and has never married. Do you

think he ever will? What sort of wife would suit him?

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss

the following:

Have you ever seen a film of one of Raymond Chandler’s

books featuring one of the following actors as Philip

Marlowe: – Humphrey Bogart, James Garner, Elliott

Gould, Robert Mitchum? What did you think of it? Was

the actor believable in the part?

What do you imagine a private detective looks like?

G l o s s a r y

It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.

They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises at

the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman

Active Study Dictionary.)

Chapters 1–2

bill (n) a piece of paper money

cop (n) a policeman (informal)

gin and lime (n) gin is a strong alcoholic drink; lime is a green fruit

similar to a lemon

millionaire (n) a very rich person (with a million dollars or pounds)

pal (n) a friend (informal)

Chapters 7–9

soda (n) water with bubbles, which people drink with alcohol or fruit

juice

suicide (n) when someone kills himself or herself deliberately

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Chapters 1–2

Put students into small groups to discuss this question.

One of the main themes of The Long Goodbye is

friendship. Do you think Marlowe is right to help Ter ry

Lennox without asking any questions?

Chapters 3–4

Put students into groups of three people. Half the groups

are Group As; the other half are Group Bs.

P u b l i s h e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d b y P e a r s o n E d u c a t i o n

F a c t s h e e t w r i t t e n b y W S F o w l e r

F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

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S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

The Long Goodbye

Photocopiable

These activities can be done alone or with one or more

other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.

Activit ies be fore rea din g the book

Read the introduction at the front of the book. Then

answer the following questions:

(a) Why does Marlowe take pity on Terry Lennox and

help him when he is trouble?

(b) Why are the police likely to believe a man has killed

his wife? What are the most likely motives?

has helped him?

CHAPTERS 3–4

Chapter 3

1 Answer these questions.

(a) Who seems likely to have sent Endicott the

lawyer to help Marlowe, and why?

(b) Why are the police sure that Silvano Rodriguez

was Lennox in disguise?

2 The case against Terry Lennox is now closed because

he has confessed and is dead. Imagine you are

Marlowe and do not believe what you have been told.

Write two paragraphs saying who you think killed

Sylvia and how Terry died.

Chapter 4

Complete the following sentences.

(a) Marlowe doesn’t think the police will bother him again

because ..........................................

(b) Endicott thinks they might if he

..........................................

(d) He owed Terry Lennox a debt because Terry

..........................................

(e) He is surprised when Marlowe hits him because

..........................................

(f) Mr Spencer wants Marlowe to help because Roger

Wade ..........................................

ADVANCED

A cti vitie s wh ile rea din g the b oo k

CHAPTERS 1–2

Chapter 1

1 Answer these questions.

(a) What does Terry Lennox look like? Why would it

be easy to recognise him?

(b) Which of these adjectives describe his

personality: polite, proud, sarcastic, steady,

tough, well-mannered?

Lennox: (i) was born in England; (ii) once lived in

England; (iii) sounds English.

2 Who says the following lines about which person?

(a) ‘I was married to her once.’

(b) ‘He’s part gangster but they all are.’

(d) ‘I want you out of my hair.’

(e) ‘My pride is different.’

Chapter 2

CHAPTERS 5–6

Chapter 5

These sentences are false. Correct them.

(a) Mr Spencer thinks Roger Wade drinks too much

because he cannot finish his book.

(b) Only the honest doctors are listed in George Peters’

file.

Lennox in New York.

(d) Earl is angry because Wade sees him practising to be

a cowboy.

(e) Roger Wade says he knew Terry Lennox but didn’t

know his wife.

Chapter 6

Match the name with the action.

(a) Marlowe

Put the following events in the order in which they

happened.

Lennox

(a)

caught a plane to Mexico.

(b)

invited Marlowe to go for a drink.

(c)

offered Marlowe 500 dollars to drive him to

Tijuana.

(d)

sent Marlowe a cheque for a hundred dollars.

Find phrases to justify these statements.

(a)

Terry was only Sylvia’s husband in name.

(b)

The servants won’t find Sylvia’s body for several

hours.

(c)

She is lying dead in the guest house.

(d)

She probably used to meet her lovers there.

(e)

Lennox didn’t shoot her.

(i)

went to Victor’s to drink a

gin and lime.

(f)

But he gives Marlowe the idea that he was

responsible for her death.

(b) Big Willy Magoon

(ii)

was going to slap his wife.

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S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

(iii)

ordered the same drink as

Marlowe.

(b) He gave her the badge of the Artists’ Rifles.

taken prisoner.

(d) When she saw him again, she was already married to

Wade.

(e) She was angry with him for marrying Sylvia.

(f) She says she was angry with her husband for having

an affair with Sylvia.

(g) Roger Wade killed Sylvia with a stone vase in the

garden.

(h) He was so drunk that he did not remember what had

happened.

Chapter 11

Answer these questions.

(a) Why does Bernie Ohls allow Marlowe to take a copy

of Eileen Wade’s confession?

(b) Why will Marlowe be in danger if the confession is

printed in the newspaper?

(d) When Marlowe talks to Randy Starr, who is the man

‘so big you could get hurt if he sneezed’?

(e) Who does Harlan Potter blame for his daughter’s

death, and why?

Chapter 12

Form a group with two or three other students and

answer these questions.

(d) Linda Loring

(iv)

once loved a man with the

initials P M.

(e) Doctor Loring

(v)

warned Marlowe not to

kiss his wife.

(f)

Roger Wade

(vi)

knocked a gangster down.

(g) Eileen Wade

(vii) let Marlowe in when he

came to the party.

CHAPTERS 7–9

Chapter 7

Answer these questions.

(a) What does Marlowe mean when he tells Wade: ‘I’d

say the usual’?

(b) What phrase of Wade’s gives us the idea that he has

killed someone?

man died for me once’?

(d) Why doesn’t Marlowe believe that Wade really tried to

commit suicide?

(e) Why has Wade given Candy too much money?

(f) Who does Eileen Wade think Marlowe is when she

tells him to come into her room?

Chapter 8

1 Harlan Potter has made a hundred million dollars. Is

he how you would imagine him to be? Find phrases

to show that he is frightening but that Marlowe is not

frightened.

2 You are a policeman investigating the death of Roger

Wade. You have interviewed Marlowe, Mrs Wade and

Candy, but you do not know if they told you the truth.

Do you think Wade committed suicide or was there

some other reason for his death? Write a report for

the police.

Chapter 9

Do you think Marlowe was a good friend to Terry, and

Terry a good friend to him?

There is an expression: ‘Honour among thieves’. Do

you think that men like Starr and Menendez are

capable of such loyalty?

Do you find Terry Lennox’s explanation of why he

could not tell the police that Eileen Wade killed Sylvia

believable? Is it typical of his character?

Answer these questions.

(a)

What makes Marlowe doubt whether Wade

committed suicide?

(b)

Why is it a piece of luck for Marlowe that Bernie

Ohls is sent to investigate?

A ctiviti es aft er re ad ing t he bo ok

(c)

Why doesn’t Captain Hernandez believe Candy’s

story?

In small groups, discuss with other students the following

questions.

(d)

Why does Bernie Ohls suspect Eileen Wade of

killing her husband?

What do you think of the treatment Marlowe receives

from the police in the course of the novel? Do you

think he deserves it?

Before Marlowe meets Howard Spencer and they go

to see Eileen Wade, he says ‘I had it all’. What

solution do you think he has reached? Discuss this

with other students.

Do you think rich men like Harlan Potter are right to

use their power to prevent the press from printing

stories about them and their families?

CHAPTERS 10–12

Chapter 10

Which of these statements are true, which are false?

Correct those that are false.

(a) Eileen Wade met Paul Marston in 1940.

Is the newspaper right to print Eileen Wade’s

confession? What do you think of the way the D A

handles this case? Why does he react as he did?

What should he have done?

P u b l i s h e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d b y P e a r s o n E d u c a t i o n

F a c t s h e e t w r i t t e n b y W S F o w l e r

F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s

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