When asked of what a man is supposed to be, most people would reply strong, tough, blunt, and essentially a badass. In literature, we would define these type of people as “hard boiled”, meaning that they are tough both on the outside and on the inside. In The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade, a rugged San Francisco detective shows many resembling traits of a hard boiled detective, but also has the ability to show some compassion when necessary.
Part of what defines a detective as, “hard boiled”, is how tough both mentally and physically said detective is. Sam Spade fits into this criteria like a cookie cutter fits into dough. Throughout The Maltese Falcon, Spade shows his physical strength and his ability to manipulate people in order to get the …show more content…
We see this from the get go, when Brigid - then known as Miss Wonderly - asks for the aid of Spade and Archer. One of the only reasons that they agree to take on the case is that she pays in big bills. Spade even tells her that when she finally reveals her true identity, and that her initial story was a lie. He says, “We didn’t exactly believe your story... We believed your two hundred dollars... I mean that you paid us more than if you’d be telling the truth, and enough more to make it all right” (33). Even from the outset, Spade’s only interest in Brigid’s troubles was the money, and the obsession with money comes back when he meets Joel Cairo for the first time. When Cairo offers him five thousand dollars to retrieve the bird, he says thoughtfully, “five thousand dollars is a lot of money” (44), and even knocks Cairo unconscious after he searches Cairo and can’t find the five thousand dollars in person. Even at the end, he lies to Gutman and says that Cairo offered ten thousand for the bird, indicating that the only thing he wants from this case is a boatload of money. In addition, at the end of the novel his main goal is to protect himself from the gallows at all cost. He states that they need a fall guy, and offers up Wilmer to fill the position, “He actually did shoot both of them - Thursby and Jacobi - didn’t he? Anyway, he’s made to order for the part. Let’s pin the necessary evidence on him and turn him over to the police” (177). He even toys around with the idea of giving Cairo and Brigid to the cops in order to stay away from the
Part of what defines a detective as, “hard boiled”, is how tough both mentally and physically said detective is. Sam Spade fits into this criteria like a cookie cutter fits into dough. Throughout The Maltese Falcon, Spade shows his physical strength and his ability to manipulate people in order to get the …show more content…
We see this from the get go, when Brigid - then known as Miss Wonderly - asks for the aid of Spade and Archer. One of the only reasons that they agree to take on the case is that she pays in big bills. Spade even tells her that when she finally reveals her true identity, and that her initial story was a lie. He says, “We didn’t exactly believe your story... We believed your two hundred dollars... I mean that you paid us more than if you’d be telling the truth, and enough more to make it all right” (33). Even from the outset, Spade’s only interest in Brigid’s troubles was the money, and the obsession with money comes back when he meets Joel Cairo for the first time. When Cairo offers him five thousand dollars to retrieve the bird, he says thoughtfully, “five thousand dollars is a lot of money” (44), and even knocks Cairo unconscious after he searches Cairo and can’t find the five thousand dollars in person. Even at the end, he lies to Gutman and says that Cairo offered ten thousand for the bird, indicating that the only thing he wants from this case is a boatload of money. In addition, at the end of the novel his main goal is to protect himself from the gallows at all cost. He states that they need a fall guy, and offers up Wilmer to fill the position, “He actually did shoot both of them - Thursby and Jacobi - didn’t he? Anyway, he’s made to order for the part. Let’s pin the necessary evidence on him and turn him over to the police” (177). He even toys around with the idea of giving Cairo and Brigid to the cops in order to stay away from the