Maltese Falcon Symbolism

Jonathan Safran Foer once said, “Because sometimes people who seem good end up being not as good as you may have hoped.” Foer references to the belief that people who seem to be kindhearted have another side to their personality that may not seem to be as gracious as others perceived them to be. The idea of people having underlying components to their personalities has become a popular theme among literature as people tend to realize that the ones with a gracious exterior can end up being the most inconsiderate among society. An example of literature that affirms this belief of people with exteriors that contradict their personalities is The Maltese Falcon. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is a classic example of detective fiction and

pulp magazines. The Maltese Falcon portrays a detective working in a society filled with corruption and criminals as he tries to deal with betrayal from those who hired him to pursue the location of a valuable antique.
Hammett’s personal biography helped inspire detective fiction as he placed the values he had as a detective into the characters in The Maltese Falcon. An example of this is when Samuel Spade tells others that "[his] clients are entitled to a decent amount of secrecy.” Spade perceives that it is unethical to divulge any information about his clients without their permission, which shows that Spade’s characters is inspired by Hammett’s values when he worked as a private detective. Hammett’s first hand experience as a detective helped inspire his work of detective fiction as he wrote for pulp magazines by using his own experience to inspire the events occurring in The Maltese Falcon. Hammett experience in Pinkerton’s detective agency shows that Hammett understood the point-of-view as a private detective in a society filled with crime and corruption, so he uses that understanding of real detective work to inspire the events and actions of characters to create an interesting story of true crime fixed with fiction to pull in readers from pulp magazines. Therefore, Hammett’s use of previous experience with a twist of violence and fiction gives The Maltese Falcon a classic feeling as it originally comes from the pulp magazines that grew in popularity as stories were written to entice readers.
San Francisco’s corrupt-lawless society during the 1920s inspires detective fiction as it creates an engaging setting for private detectives to thrive in.

San Francisco’s alarming setting is seen when Brigid explains to Spade that Thursby “...always went heavily armed…” anywhere he would go due to the extent of crime that occurred in the streets of San Francisco. Thursby traveling everywhere with weapons shows the degree of crime in San Francisco as it shows that even a criminal like Thursby doesn’t feel safe walking around without having protection to save him from other criminals like himself. Hammett’s decision to use San Francisco during the 1920s, a place where criminals are scared of other criminals, reveals the perfect setting for detective fiction to take place in as it gives Hammett the opportunity to always have engaging events transpire to entice readers. Hammett’s enticing setting for detectives and the use of crime create a classic style for detective fiction as it emphasizes the history of San Francisco while captivating readers to pursue reading the detective fiction

genre.
Hammett’s use of detective fiction and pulp magazines can historically be found in previous literary works as they tend to follow a formula skeleton that was designed to attract readers. Violence and accusations captivated audiences such as when Spade tries to find “someone they can stick for those three murders,” which enticed readers to do their own investigation to figure out who actually murdered the three people instead of believing Spade. Detective fiction and pulp magazines come from a time period where people were searching for fiction to read to escape from the reality as it seemed intriguing for those who were dissatisfied with how monotonous their life resembled compared to the interesting events that occurred in stories filled with crime, detectives, and femme fatales. Detective fiction is found in previous works such as Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein as it enticed readers to crave an answer to the questions that the stories generated. The Maltese Falcon originated from pulp magazines using the same genre these previous classics utilized as each character was unleashed as it kept enticing readers to keep wanting to know how the story would end. Hammett’s combination of violence and detective fiction as he wrote for pulp magazines created the ideal example of a detective-pulp fiction as it kept tempting people to keep buying pulp magazines to witness the solution to the book’s biggest questions.
Detectives became popular after World War I as it validated men’s masculinity due to the detectives’ harsh-cruel nature concerning crimes after reality such as war made men disillusioned with a need for verification on their values. For example, The Maltese Falcon includes a detective such as Spade who has been described as ”... not the man that's afraid of a little bit of trouble,” which affirmed the belief that men are not reluctant to getting their hands dirty in situations concerning violence and crime. Spade’s masculine nature captivated men searching for confirmation of their masculinity since the war caused men to lose hope in their ideals due to the women struggling to keep the jobs that the men left behind. The introduction of women in the work force and fight for women’s rights made men search for another approach in keeping the ideals of men being the masculine figures in society. The Maltese Falcon introduces the masculine detective dedicated to fighting crime, which helps keeps it as a classic example of detective fiction as it enticed readers from different aspects throughout time.
Although men searched for a masculine figure in The Maltese Falcon, women searched for feminine figures who rebelled against the stereotypical society where Brigid fit the role of the dangerous and sexy femme fatale. Brigid put on a innocent exterior by trying to “seem smaller...very young and oppressed” although she managed to murder Archer and fought to find the maltese falcon statue. Women during the 1920s aimed to rebel against society by trying to go outside the norm on a fashion, sexual, moral, and intellectual level to demonstrate that women don’t need to rely on men to have a successful and carefree life. Women like Brigid tried to have an innocent exterior to escape from being blamed for crimes that they committed such as when Brigid put on a harmless demeanor to Spade to convince him to not turn her in for the crimes she executed. Hammett’s use of a femme fatale brought a new twist to detective fiction as it introduced women as vindictive when it came to securing what they pursue. Hammett’s introduction of a woman that can take on a man is an example of Hammett’s writing that helped form the classic style of The Maltese Falcon.
Through the use of fear being present throughout the novel, The Maltese Falcon is able to use this fear to entice readers to read until the very end.

An example of this fear is when Spade announces that “Everybody… has something to conceal,” which refers to how people have the fear of their secrets being revealed. Brigid is one of the characters that has a secret throughout the novel that she tries to hide from Spade as it could affect her future relationship with him. Her fear is present as she continues to develop a relationship with Spade to the point where her secret could cause her relationship and freedom to be in jeopardy. Brigid’s fear exists as she continues to search for the falcon, which helps develop the feeling of a true detective fiction novel as it gives the readers the feeling of nervousness and a need to know the secrets that Brigid is

hiding.
Betrayal is a common theme throughout the book as it develops the characters and gives the readers the ability to understand who can truly be trusted. An example of betrayal is when Gutman announces that he sees Wilmer “just exactly as if he were my own son” even though he winds up deciding that Wilmer would be the best choice as the fall guy for the three crimes. This type of betrayal reveals that nobody is safe from being betrayed even the ones closest to one another and that characters like Gutman are self-interested in ensuring that he is safe rather than the safety of others. Betrayal in detective fictions gives a sense of shock to the readers due to the inability to foreshadow who will be betrayed since the characters all have their hidden backgrounds that they deny to reveal. As the story develops, the characters show their true character as they betray one another to protect themselves and receive the valuable Maltese falcon. Hammett's use of betrayal to give suspense maintains the classic tone of detective fiction as it gives the readers a chance of being surprised at the character's actions to the point where they keep reading it repeatedly to identify any other details that they might have missed.