Hammett-Sam Spade Task In The Maltese Falcon

This mystery follows the escapades of Sam Spade as he hunts for the missing Maltese Falcon, and the killer of his partner. Spade is described as a “Blond Satan” (1). This is not a rather flattering way of describing your protagonist, and Hammett knew this. He knew that when solving crimes, one must place himself into the mind of the criminals to truly understand their reasoning. To do this for a living will take its toll, as Hammett knows all too well from his life as a private detective in L.A. His private eye is gruff, cynical, and drinks far too much alcohol. Spade is known for being far too honest at times saying, “people lose teeth talking like that” (94) when trying to gain information. These are the coping mechanisms that Hammett gives Spade to show his readers the human aspects of him. Spade might not be the most enjoyable company but if you give him a case to solve he will give his all to solving it. This sounds like another brilliant detective from the past. Sir Doyle would understand why Sam Spade is an effective detective just by looking at his habits. Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade are akin to one another in the fact that they are both fallible humans with a knack for solving mysteries. Hammett is brilliant in the way he uses the influence of perhaps the first hardboiled detective to add a human side to the private eye. This type of writing is far above the caliber expected of a pulp fiction author, and to this day literary scholars site “The Maltese Falcon was vastly ahead of any other work in its weight class.” (Smith, 178) Dashiell Hammett proved the worth of an entire subgenre, and helped the hardboiled detective become a part of American literature. To this day, when people think of the private eye they jump straight to the cliché of a tough man of few words drinking bourbon and hunting down the bad guys in a dark city street. This is

It is Deborah’s love for Hugh that prompts her theft of Mitchell’s wallet. A silent observer during the rich men’s conversation about Hugh’s talent, the woman has overheard Mitchell’s somewhat

As one of film noir’s characteristics, the lifestyle of the protagonist is portrayed as bleak and depressing. Other than the usual encounters with urban crime, he does not have a family or a committed relationship. This can be attributed to the common motifs of disbelief and insecurity men felt after the Second World War. As Paul Schrader states in “Notes on Film Noir,” a film noir’s technique to describe the male protagonist “emphasize loss, nostalgia, lack of clear priorities, insecurity; then submerges these self-doubts in mannerism and style” (Schrader 160). Because of this, Spade is a man who does not trust either his colleagues or the women he encounters. He deals with his problems with aggression and dominance, like how he always slaps another character, Mr. Cairo. Among other characteristics, Spade is a man who does things for his own integrity and professional responsibility as a detective and not for any innate goodness. He shows no weakness or emotions that touch into a “feminine” side. To further reinforce this lifestyle, only three women are presented in this film and bring out different characteristics of Spade. The three women are portrayed as a jealous lover, a “helpmate,” and the femme

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was a touching book that revolved around loyalty within a friendship. The friendship between Hassan and Amir had some difficulties. A true friendship can be hard to find(,) but can be one of the most vital things to being truly happy. Both Hassan and Amir had proven their loyalty to each other by the end of The Kite Runner. Loyalty was a crucial part in Hassan and Amir’s friendship.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about life in Afghanistan that follows a boy named Amir, his father Baba, and their two servants Hassan and Ali. Amir and Baba are wealthy Pashtuns, and Baba is well respected. Hassan and Ali, on the other hand, are Hazara, an ethnic minority in Afghanistan. The Hazara people are oppressed and seen as inferior to the Pashtun people. Baba, however, doesn’t treat them as inferior:this way, he shows kindness towards Hassan, instead ofunlike Amir. Throughout Amir’s childhood, he is constantly ignored by Baba because he does not fit Baba’s idea of the son he wants. Baba’s general disapproval and disinterest in Amir shows that he is a bad father to Amir, especially because he shows the opposite emotions to Hassan.

The Sheriff’s Wife of Dickson County Mrs. Peter’s the sheriff’s wife in the short story, “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell. Her knowledge of being a housewife is why her husband Sheriff Peter’s brought her along for the murder investigation at The Wright’s home. She did not know The Wright’s until Mrs.Wright was brought in after her arrest. Even with Mrs. Peter’s timid, helpful, and observant ways she still stayed true to her sex.

Hammett brings the reader into the life of Spade with the introduction of Miss Wonderly and her fictitious story concerning her sister and Mr. Thursby. The plot is quickly twisted with the murders of Archer and Thursby and the blame lands right on Spade’s doorstep. The plot of the story, almost in its entirety, is revealed by chapter 6. In chapter 7, titled “In the air”, Spade and Brigid are alone in his apartment awaiting the arrival of Cairo. With no other context or background Spade begins to tell Brigid “about a thing that had happened some years before in the Northwest” (57). Martin Harris comments on this random occurrence stating “The intrusion of the parable into The Maltese Falcon has invited much speculation, with most agreeing that it’s lack of significance to the plot promotes it thematic importance” (Harris 243). This makes the digression of the story of Flitcraft an off kilter affair that initially slows the story down. Without further study into the parable its meaning is easy to dismiss as mere static when compared to the bigger plot in the story. However, understanding this seemingly misplaced tale gives the reader a much deeper understanding of Spade and the

The Maltese Falcon has significant physical altercations and plenty of shouting. There is one instance of man vs. self conflict in that Sam loves Brigid, a femme fatale, but that her various lies, and her selfish nature works against the possibility of a relationship. At the end of the movie, Brigid begs Sam not to turn her into the police but he outlines in detail why their relationship would not work: she is his partner’s murderer (1:29:20). This shocking revelation cannot be overlooked because Sam states he cannot trust her. His knowledge of the crime makes him vulnerable to being shot in the back by her if they were to be married. He does not want to “play the sap” for her. He resolves this conflict by choosing logic over emotion, and turning in Brigid to the police for the murder of his partner, Miles Archer.

In “Trifles”, a division between the two sexes is quickly established as the men enter the house and huddle by the stove while the women remain still by the door. As the men start their detective work the women wander around the house to gather some of Mrs. Wright’s belongings. While searching for her belongings, the women discover an empty birdcage and find a dead bird in a “pretty box” (Glaspell, 956) inside of Mrs. Wright's sewing basket. Mrs. Hale jumps at the sight of the bird’s neck and Mrs. Peters points out how “somebody-wrung-its-neck” (Glaspell, 957) similar to the way Mr. Wright was found earlier. Mrs. Wright's murder of her husband can be seen as an act of feminine revolt against the male-dominated society. Another example of women defying against patriarchy is of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters hiding the evidence that can prove Mrs. Wright to be guilty of her husband’s murder. Before their departure from the Wright’s house, as the men are returning, the sheriff suggests that the county attorney take a look through the items Mrs. Peters had collected for Mrs. Wright. However, he decides that anything collected by the women cannot have much significance and overlooks it. His assumption that the women would have came forward if they saw any possible evidence costs him. The sheriff’s belief is that women derive their identity solely from their relationships with men; the dominant gender.

In the play, Mrs. Peters is one of the women who supports in the hiding of the evidence that will evidently prove Mrs. Wright’s motive for murder. The plays revolves around theme that is associated with the title, Trifles, wherein the irony of it is the women meddling in their trifle things find the motive. Mrs. Peters is a dynamic character that sees the most change, from siding with the men and making excuses for them to hiding the cutting piece of evidence for the case, being the wife of the sheriff she faces conflict in helping Mrs. Wright however in the end it is her trying to hide the bird in her pocket that triggers Mrs. Hale to take action in the end, her character turns from a woman “married to the law” to an a criminal by withholding evidence. All these triggers of Mrs. Peter’s

I believe the author put forth this theme effectively. Hammett depicts the evil of greed by displaying betrayal, violence and misery that it breedsThe tone of the novel is dark and cynical. Since Hammett was a real-life detective, he had first-hand experience on how detectives act and talk. The Maltese Falcon s full of slang words, and has a sharp rhythm and biting tone in the dialogue. The author’s extensive familiarity with detective work allows him to effectively create an overall dark and cynical tone. This can be seen in the passage where Hammett is describing different noises: a telephone ringing in the darkness, bedsprings creaking, fingers fumbling against the wood, something thudding on the carpet, and finally a man’s voice. This detailed description of a series of sounds creates a feeling of uneasiness and evokes a foreboding feeling that something bad is about to happen.Sam Spade is a tall, blond, pleasantly satanic-looking, hard-boiled detective. He is suspected of killing Thursby along with Miles Archer in order to marry Iva. Miles Archer is Spade’s middle-aged partner, who is shot and killed by

The inability to discern Sam’s true intentions can be best described by Christianson’s interpretation of ambiguity in film noir, “[film noir] is expressed through unconventional characterization as well as innovative and excessive visual and narrative techniques. Through all of the gaps and unanswered questions film noir poses, viewers are engaged in an intellectually demanding process” (519). This intellectually demanding process Christianson describes is the way in which the audience is forced to rip through Huston’s entanglement of the characters in convoluted situations that obscure their true motives, which is exemplified in the words of Sam himself, “You’ll never understand me” (Huston). The way in which Huston blurs the lines of the word disloyalty is something that can be seen in society in the struggle to do what is right or to protect one’s relationships; this blurring is exemplified in Sam having to decide whether or not he should do the right thing to avenge his partner, or to protect the woman, Huston leads the audience to believe he loves.

I am reading I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga, and I am on page 285. This book is about a person named Jazz, who is the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer. There is a copycat who goes by the name of “The Impressionist”. Who is going around Lobo’s Nod and copying Billy Dent’s killings. In this journal I will be evaluating the character Howie Gertson.

The characters of The Maltese Falcon have qualities that make them appear realistically complex, unpredictable, and at times self-contradicting: reflexive of human nature. For instance, the femme fatale, Brigid, blurs the line between appearance and reality. This is shown when Spade is about to turn her in to the police and she says, “You’re [Spade is] lying if you say you don’t know down in your heart that, in spite of anything I’ve done, I love you.” (Hammett, 212) Brigid claims that she loves Spade, but neither he nor the reader know if that is actually true. Brigid also mixes truth with lies like when she confesses, “ ‘I am a liar,’

Mr. Cairo is happy to see Miss Brigid because he thinks Miss Brigid would be able to provide the Maltese Falcon. He tells Spade that the youth which Spade showed him is still watching over the house.