Essay on The Hard-Boiled Detective

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

Many individuals have flashbacks after experiencing trauma. Survivors of such horrible traumas sometimes can act out in violence, after something triggers them to remember the ordeal. The novel The Suspect by L.R. Wright, offers a realistic account of what goes on in the mind of an individual who has committed murder. Throughout the novel, I made connections to many real life examples of how trauma has affected the lives of criminals and their victims, through either alcohol or mental illness. Individuals affected by this sort of trauma can seek medical or social help in order to be able to learn how to cope with daily living.

In the opening scene of ‘An Inspector Calls’ Gerald Croft is described as “an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred man-about-town.” This suggests Gerald is a sophisticated, respectable, well-mannered, attractive young man and has came from an aristocratic background, this is also demonstrated by his parents Lord and Lady Croft choosing to not attend the celebration of his and Sheila’s engagement- reflecting that they do not approve of him marrying into a lower social class. Nevertheless Gerald does not appear fazed by this and attempts to do and say what he feels will impress Mr and Mrs Birling. Gerald is almost portrayed as the ‘perfect son’ for Mr and Mrs Birling as opposed to their own son Eric, who is characterised as less sophisticated, confident and educated. Gerald is practically running his fathers business and is very articulate whilst talking with the Birlings’, as opposed to Eric who is merely working for Mr Birling and is more socially impaired. Gerald has recently engaged to Sheila Birling and is persistent on being a part of the family, as shown when he says “ I insist on being one of the family now. I’ve been trying long enough haven't I? (As she does not reply, with more insistence.) Haven't I? You know I have”. The repetition of "haven't I?" further enhances his longing to be part of the Birling family, although as Sheila is hesitant and questions his claims as he was barely seen all summer so this may actually suggest the engagement is less about him being with Sheila and more about his partnership with the Birling’s business.Moreover, this would represent he is narcissistic and has a superficial mentality, just like Mr and Mrs Birling.

Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.

Near the beginning of the book, we meet Tom's mistress for the first time, and we learn of his other life. Right off the bat he is shown as a bad person, but it is not until he breaks Myrtle's nose that we see how he deals with the fact of his cheating. Here he only changes before the reader's eyes, but this will play a big part in how he transforms later in the book. “”Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! “ Shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-----” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (pg.37) Here Tom shows how he holds Daisy’s name and person in a shrine of purity in his mind, and how he is also a cruel person, who doesn’t really care about Myrtle. He breaks her nose simply for bringing Daisy’s name into this place, where he is cheating on Daisy.

Cold case investigation is a growing concern due to increased numbers of unsolved cases and pop culture appeal. This paper will walk you through what a cold case investigation is, how one begins, and factors such as the use of volunteers can effect the outcome of a cold case investigation. Each year the number of unsolved cases in the U.S. goes up, but with limiting funding and lack of manning something has to be done to keep the numbers down. A dedicated cold case unit is the best answer to this problem.

Tom Buchanan’s characteristics were fabricated to mimic those in society who decide against treating their significant other with the respect and love that he/she deserves. In the novel, Tom was never content with just having the wife he claimed he loved (Daisy), so he also began to an affair with his mechanic’s wife. He never exhibited any remorse for his infidelity, even after Daisy reveals that there have been more affairs on page 131: “Do you know why we left Chicago? I’m surprised they didn’t treat you to the story of that little spree.”. She reveals this in an attempt to get her husband to feel some remorse for his cheating or at least to convince him to allow her to leave him for Gatsby. Her attempts fail, however, and he fights even more to keep her as his own. Although Daisy uses a term with a less harsh connotation to mimic Tom’s verbal evasion of his actions, Fitzgerald makes it clear that Tom refuses to have a monogamous relationship, yet demands Daisy to do so.

A Cleveland detective (McFadden), on a downtown beat which he had been patrolling for many years, observed two strangers (petitioner and another man, Chilton) on a street corner. He saw them proceed alternately back and forth along an identical route, pausing to stare in the same store window, which they did for a total of about 24 times. Each completion of the route was followed by a conference between the two on a corner, at one of which they were joined by a third man (Katz) who left swiftly. Suspecting the two men of "casing a job, a stick-up," the officer followed them and saw them rejoin the third man a couple of blocks away in front of a

In figure 2, Polhaus and Dundy wear nearly identical outfits, they have the same grim expressions, and they have extremely similar lighting on their faces, clothes, and hands. In figure 3, they both appear menacing with the same dark lighting and this lighting reinforces the idea that Spade is more trustworthy than the cops. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate how the individuals in the police force have been blurred, so that they are nearly the same. It has already been established that the lack of contrast in shadows on the faces of the cops makes them less complex characters, and since all the cops are similar, it means nearly all are superficial in a way, and that Spade is more human than all of them because he is in charge of his own actions and morals. The cops in the film have been transformed from characters into plot devices and obstacles for Spade to get around. This “de-characterization” of the police forces people to relate to criminals and morally ambiguous private investigators like Spade. The world of the film is bleaker than the world of the novel because cops, who are meant to protect and serve others, have been slightly discredited. Thus, the institutions in the filmic world are seen as ineffective and unstable, and the audience can only relate to people like Spade who work outside 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.

One of the overall goals of the film The Maltese Falcon was to let people escape from the reality; the film was release in 1940s’, which people all lived under the depression era. The film satisfied the will that middle age male became a private detective rather than sitting in the office or working in the factory. Became Sam Spade means that you could live within mystery and having beautiful women all around; Effie would be a supporter, Eva was strongly rely on Sam, and O’Shaungessy was a sexy and attractive

Hardboiled American detectives, such as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep, follow a general code of ethics in which they portray themselves as tough guys with no feelings or emotional attachments to anything, who willingly get into violent fights and resolve what the police cannot solve. They are presented as detectives who are independent in nature and have more wit than the rest of the characters in the novels. In the case of Lew Archer in The Galton Case, it is important to note that he is a special illustration of a detective that differs from the normal formula of what makes one hardboiled. Lew Archer’s code of ethics differs from the codes followed by the other hardboiled American detectives in the way

Police deviance is an unfortunate fact of life. What is the difference between misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance? To what extent does Plato's notion of the "tri-partite soul" help account for these misbehaviors?

The criminal justice system has so many areas that interest me. The area that interests me the most is homicide. The reason being is because growing up I use to watch TV shows such as the first 48, Law and Order, and New York City Undercover. These TV shows showed how the criminal justice system works. Some of these shows accurately tell stories of homicide and how law enforcment officers handle the case. I have always been interested in becoming a homicide detective simply so that I can help victims and their family has justice. I feel like the death of a loved one or friend is even harder to deal with when the person who murdered them is still walking the streets. I hope to one day show people that even though the

The episode “Tango” in the television show “Law and Order” tells a story of an investigation regarding a murder of a teenage girl, including the arrest and prosecution of two different offenders within the criminal justice system. The story line and the characters embody different assumptions and values within their roles and the crime. There are many different restorative assumptions and values that are could have played a vital role in healing and resolution, but were unfortunately missing from the storyline. The portrayal of the criminal justice system that is represented in “Tango” does have an impact on viewer’s faith and perspective of the system and its effectiveness. These arguments are active in an analysis of the “Law and Order” episode “Tango” through a restorative justice lens.