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This is a Literature Review study.

August 25, 2025

Landscapes of Noir: The World of Alienation

Puntos clave

Alienation profoundly shapes the character and world within noir fiction, establishing a sense of disconnect.
It reveals that relationships in noir literature often contribute to estrangement, affecting the protagonist's reality.
Analysis focuses on works by Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler, emphasizing diverse modes of alienation.
The findings highlight how alienation functions as both individual identity and societal critique in these narratives.

Resumen

In this article, I explore the concept of alienation as a fundamental cornerstone of noir fiction. Sometimes referred to as estrangement, I take an existentialist view of this noir tenet, and argue that the noir character and world are inextricably steeped in alienated and alienating relationships. I discuss alienation as a mode of relating, or a product of ill-formed relationships, rather than simply a mark of otherness. I look mainly to Jim Thompson’s Pop. 1280 (1964) and Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye (1953) and The Little Sister (1949) to examine the various modes of alienation as by-products of relationships. The relationships I look to are 1) the individual to the self, 2) the individual to society and 3) the individual to the physical landscape.

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