What is the name of Raymond Chandler's private detective in The Big Sleep?

Philip Marlowe is Raymond Chandler's private detective in The Big Sleep.

Marlowe is a private investigator based in Los Angeles, known for his dry wit, moral independence and willingness to challenge wealthy or powerful clients. He first appeared in Chandler's 1939 novel The Big Sleep, where General Sternwood hires him to deal with a blackmail problem involving the general's daughter.

Chandler developed Marlowe during the growth of hard-boiled detective fiction in American magazines and novels. The character's cases take him through corrupt institutions, organized crime, deception and social inequality. Although Marlowe can be physically tough, his defining quality is often an ethical refusal to accept an easy compromise.

Marlowe is frequently confused with Sam Spade, another famous hard-boiled detective. Spade was created by Dashiell Hammett and appears in The Maltese Falcon. The two characters belong to the same broad tradition, but they were created by different authors.