Chandler paints a bleak picture of wealth in "The Big Sleep," showcasing how it breeds vice, manipulation, and a disregard for human life. The Sternwood family, despite their affluence, are morally bankrupt, plagued by secrets, addiction, and internal conflicts. Their wealth becomes a tool for control and a shield from the consequences of their actions, highlighting the social inequalities and ethical decay of the time.

The novel is populated with alluring but dangerous women who use their charm and sexuality as weapons. Vivian Sternwood, the elder daughter, embodies this archetype, using Marlowe to clean up her family's messes while also drawing him into a web of deceit. These "femme fatales" challenge traditional gender roles of the era, but also reinforce a sense of distrust and danger surrounding independent women.

Philip Marlowe embodies the classic hard-boiled detective – cynical, world-weary, yet clinging to a personal code of ethics in a corrupt world. He moves through the moral quagmire of the story, often facing violence and betrayal, yet maintaining his own sense of justice. While not without flaws, Marlowe's integrity and determination to find the truth, regardless of who it hurts, offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape.