An Analysis of the characters in Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon”
Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Maltese Falcon” takes place in the port city of San Francisco, California. Published at the beginning of the economic crisis of the Great Depression in 1930.The novel carries out aspects of lust, greed, betrayal, and the suspense of murder, as all characters are after wealth that follows a prestige falcon artifact. As a murder mystery in crime fiction the novel presents all aspects of stereotypical characters that develop in the novel and have a role on the plot. The novel pursues private detective Sam Spade through his various encounters of work and contacts with both criminals and police officials. Spade is a self-sufficient and manipulative …show more content…
For long he is the only one that knows the true price of the falcon. His greed to obtain it causes him to seek out Spade and the artifact by any means. At the end of the novel Spade offers Gutman the falcon in return for Wilmer to be handed into the police for the murders he committed as exchange. Gutman betrays Wilmer in hopes for the transaction of him for the falcon. He exclaims to Wilmer, “I couldn’t be any fonder of you if you were my own son; but-well, by Gad!- if you lose a son it’s possible to get another-and there’s only one Maltese Falcon” (Hammett 194). This is an example of his greed for the falcon and betrayal to someone who killed for him, by explaining that he is replaceable if it means an end to his goal, the …show more content…
However Wilmer’s actions suggest him to be a young hooligan who is Gutman’s bodyguard/ gunman. At first he seems collected and quiet, but that often changes around Spade because he is continuously mocking him by calling him a ‘punk’ and leaving him to be tense and angry. It is Wilmer who ultimately commits most of the murders throughout the novel. First with Thursby (Brigid’s ally) and Captain Jacobi. Cairo is described to have more ‘delicate’ actions that leave him to be wimpy. For instance, Sam says to Cairo “when you’re slapped you’ll take it and like it” when Brigid slaps him in Spade’s apartment (Hammett 69). He has past connections with Brigid which leaves him to be helpful for Gutman to obtain the falcon but he nothing more than a knowledgeable
Dashiell Hammett’s novel “The Maltese Falcon” takes place in the port city of San Francisco, California. Published at the beginning of the economic crisis of the Great Depression in 1930.The novel carries out aspects of lust, greed, betrayal, and the suspense of murder, as all characters are after wealth that follows a prestige falcon artifact. As a murder mystery in crime fiction the novel presents all aspects of stereotypical characters that develop in the novel and have a role on the plot. The novel pursues private detective Sam Spade through his various encounters of work and contacts with both criminals and police officials. Spade is a self-sufficient and manipulative …show more content…
For long he is the only one that knows the true price of the falcon. His greed to obtain it causes him to seek out Spade and the artifact by any means. At the end of the novel Spade offers Gutman the falcon in return for Wilmer to be handed into the police for the murders he committed as exchange. Gutman betrays Wilmer in hopes for the transaction of him for the falcon. He exclaims to Wilmer, “I couldn’t be any fonder of you if you were my own son; but-well, by Gad!- if you lose a son it’s possible to get another-and there’s only one Maltese Falcon” (Hammett 194). This is an example of his greed for the falcon and betrayal to someone who killed for him, by explaining that he is replaceable if it means an end to his goal, the …show more content…
However Wilmer’s actions suggest him to be a young hooligan who is Gutman’s bodyguard/ gunman. At first he seems collected and quiet, but that often changes around Spade because he is continuously mocking him by calling him a ‘punk’ and leaving him to be tense and angry. It is Wilmer who ultimately commits most of the murders throughout the novel. First with Thursby (Brigid’s ally) and Captain Jacobi. Cairo is described to have more ‘delicate’ actions that leave him to be wimpy. For instance, Sam says to Cairo “when you’re slapped you’ll take it and like it” when Brigid slaps him in Spade’s apartment (Hammett 69). He has past connections with Brigid which leaves him to be helpful for Gutman to obtain the falcon but he nothing more than a knowledgeable