Paper Topic:

Essay on the Maltese Falcon

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Essay on the Maltese Falcon The novel The Maltese Falcon is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett

which has been adopted three times into film . The main character Sam Spade is well

known as the figure in the hard-boiled private detective genre . The character of Spade

was a departure from Dashiell Hammett 's nameless and unglamorous detectives . He

combined the features of his previous detectives , notably with his cold detachment , eye

for detail , and the unflinching determination to achieve his own justice . Sam Spade is

the

man who has witnessed all the wretched , the corrupt , as well as the tawdry side of life

while still retaining his tarnished dream

In the novel The Maltese Falcon , Sam Spade is described as a Blond Satan

He is clearly the hero however , he comes across just as ruthless amoral , and greedy as

the criminals he chases . Sam Spade has a hard edge as the archetypical hard-boiled

detective , a tarnished hero and anti-hero . He shows no sadness or shock when he

learns about his partner 's murder , Miles Archer . Sam even declines examining the body

for clues to the murder because he 's been having an affair with his partner 's wife and has

professed that he never liked Miles Archer anyway

This indifference toward his partner is then emphasized when he s his

secretary to have his partner 's desk removed from the office as well as his name removed

from the office door window . Spades lack of compassion and indeed his innate cruelty is

shown when he insincerely comforts his partner 's widow and when he takes pleasure in

the violence of hitting the character of Joel Cairo with his gun , after gaining the upper

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the upper hand he is attacked

Spade 's heroism in the novel is not from any suddenly surfaced act of

goodness , compassion , or concern for justice . These qualities would not fall into Spade 's

enviroment- however it would in Spade 's personal code of loyalty , his professional

responsibility , and integrity . He likes his work and knows he is good at what he does , and

despite his personal feelings toward Archer , he is loyal to his dead partner and his

chosen profession . Sam Spade 's cynicism is his only defense in a violent , hostile and

romising environment- He sees himself as the artificial structure to provide

meaning and to an otherwise chaotic world

Sam Spade 's personal code makes him a hero in the novel and the source of

his redemption . Indeed , the negative aspects of Spade 's character make his later sacrifice

all the more affective . Because it shows despite his cynicism , his cruel nature and

negative feelings toward Archer , he is determined to see Brigid pay for murdering his

partner . Sam Spade 's personal code demands it of him . [ When a man 's partner is killed

he 's supposed to do something about it . It doesn 't make any difference what you thought

of him . He was your partner and you...

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