Landscapes of Noir: The World of Alienation

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.