For this week’s writing, I will be doing a literary analysis
of Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.” I will be discussing themes
throughout the book and how they are played out. From this I will also finally
provide my opinion on the main character, Sam Spade, one that was very hard for
me to grasp previously without reading the entirety of the novel.
Being that this novel is in a genre heavily associated with
lies and deceit, it wasn’t at all surprising for me to see that it is a common
theme throughout the entire book. What was surprising, however, was the fact that
it seems the detective too is lying and hiding things. I know for the case of
trying to dig up details from suspects this may be the case, however, on
numerous instances, Spade intentionally hides information and lies for his
personal interest and protection. Some instances include, in Chapter 10, Spade
discusses the Maltese Falcon with Gutman and tells him he will receive a reward
twice that he was actually offered by Cairo in aims to get perhaps a better
deal from him and to learn more about the Falcon. Another example is in the end,
Spade denies association with Brigid and even turns her in to avoid being
further questioned on the death of his partner, even after confessing his love for
her to her.
Another theme in this story is masculinity and the objectification
of female characters. This is seen from beginning to end. Spade and his partner
look “Miss Wonderly” up and down before agreeing for her to be a client. They
also share snide remarks about her after she leaves, calling her “dynamite”.
Another example would be Spade having an affair with Archer’s wife, Iva. He
also sleeps with Brigid, but we can’t tell if he did it because he liked her,
or if he’s doing it to build trust. After that he ended up searching her room
also. It just seems that females are played as below the men in the novel and
that they are there to be “of use” in some shape or form. Whether that be
sexual, or personal interests.
From these two themes I had finally placed my opinions on
Sam Spade. To me, I cannot help coining him as a corrupt cop. In the end, he
hadn’t changed in my opinion. While he did put the murderer of his partner in
jail, it seems he did it to protect himself from further scrutiny. He
objectifies women, and he lies way too much for me to consider saying he’s
doing it to further the investigation. Instead, its easier to say Spade does it
to further his means.
Works Cited:
“The Maltese Falcon.” The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett, Vintage Books, a Division of Random House, Inc., 1989,
I agree, some of my characters are a little hard to grasp until I got deeper into the book. I think this book it telling of the social climate during that time period. The disrespect towards women and lack of regard for her whit but for her body instead is something women have been dealing with for years. I think this book is a highlight of the struggle women continue to face everyday.
ReplyDeleteHi April,
ReplyDeleteI like your little intro your analysis, so useful!
It’s interesting how you pointed out all the characters are liars, do you think that they all had selfish or ill intentions or did some had to for a more acceptable reason? Sounds like everyone has ulterior motives of their own from your analysis.
Even in that small bit we read for class, there was a lot of female objectification, so I’m not surprise that’s a reoccurring theme in the book. Like Sydney said, it’s a struggle, and I still feel like women face these issues when they go to law enforcement or the dectective even.
Hi April! I felt like this was one of the stories that was hard to grasp because we only got to read a portion of it. Some of them were easier to understand even with having so little of the story, but this story had me really confused. I think you are right on point with how the women were portrayed. Perhaps that is a reflection on the time period?
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