The Maltese Falcon Essay

The city of San Francisco, California, in the 1920’s, provides a distinctively mysterious setting for Dashiell Hammett’s book, “The Maltese Falcon.” Hammett uses his own knowledge of the San Francisco area and experiences as an operative for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency to create a unique and suspenseful detective mystery (reference, 1997). Greed drives most of the characters, who are in pursuit of a falcon presumed to be worth thousands. This essay will examine the novels setting of San Francisco in the 1920’s; its non-fictional urban setting; Spade’s apartment and office; and will end with a brief conclusion. This paper will reveal that the setting is important in understanding, not only the protagonist, detective Samuel Spade, but also the

crime. The setting reinforces the corruption, mystery, and deceit portrayed throughout the novel.
“The Maltese Falcon” is set in the city of San Francisco.

Throughout the book it is described as a dark, foggy, and corrupt place. Like many other cities in the 1920’s, San Francisco was a dangerous place. The world was dealing with the aftermath of World War I—heavy debt and high unemployment rates. Due to Prohibition, buying or selling liquor had become a criminal act. As a result, bootlegging made large profits and gave rise to several large gangs. San Francisco, alongside many other large cities, fell under the control of gangsters who would pay off local authorities (Freeman; reference). Further, the stock markets crashed in the late 1920’s, jobs became even more scarce and criminal activity further escalated. Herb Caen, a columnist for the “San Francisco Chronicle,” stated that there was minimal law enforcement during this era in the city, lawyers “knew every shyster trick…City Hall, the D.A. and the cops ran the town as though they owned it…there were hundreds, maybe thousands…” of hookers (as cited in “Overview: The Maltese Falcon”). Hammett used this setting as a foundation for “The Maltese Falcon.” The greed and deceit of the characters is easily understood when taking into account the state of the economy in the late 1920’s. Further, the mistrust in authority and reliance on private detectives in the book makes sense as corruption was ramped in the police department and with government officials. As stated by detective Spade, “most things in San Francisco…[could] be bought, or taken” (Hammett, p 55). This reinforces the corrupt city setting set out by Hammett and permits the deceitful actions of the characters to be plausible to

readers.
A unique feature of Hammett’s novel is the use of non-fictional street names and buildings to develop the plot. Readers can follow Spade as he travels throughout the city. Not only does this add thrill and suspense for readers it makes the fictional plot seem more realistic. By revealing details of the setting it creates a clearer picture for readers about the plot it is centered around (Freeman).
Another vital part of the novels setting is that majority of scenes occur at night. For example, Spade is notified in the thick of the night that Miles Archer has been murdered. As he travels to the scene of the crime the night’s fog was described as “thin, clammy, and penetrant, [that it] blurred the street” (Hammett, p 12). This creates an eerie and mysterious feeling for the readers. The blurriness created by the fog and the darkness of the night symbolizes the cities lack of clarity, the confusion created by corruption, and mistrust in authority. Most importantly it is used to represent the darkness that surrounds the characters and is blinding them with greed and deceit.
Hammett has many significant scenes depicted either in Spade’s apartment or office. For instance, it is at Spade’s apartment that we learn of Archer’s death; more significantly, it is a place where the police visit several times and hassle Spade; and it is where Spade turns in Brigid O’Shaughnessy. By repeatingly using Spade’s apartment, it reminds the reader that no one or place is completely safe in this era. Further, Spade’s office is described with windows open and letting in “air faintly scented with ammonia. The ashes on the desk twitched and crawled in the current” (Hammett, p 4). Hammett illustrates to readers more details about the setting and reveals the weather and smell of the city. The scent of ammonia indicates the office is near water and it is quite windy as the ashes in his tray are twitching and crawling (Hammett, 4; reference, 1997).
In conclusion, Hammett throughout the novel uses the setting of San Francisco in the 1920’s and a fictional plot to create a suspenseful and thrilling mystery novel. San Francisco is portrayed as a dark, foggy, and windy city. Most of the story takes place at night to symbolize the darkness of human nature and corruption that has entrenched the city. The plot and the characters in this novel are a direct result of the culture and setting that existed in San Francisco in the 1920’s. Hammett is able to clearly portray to readers that this period in time was full of crime, greed, deceit, and corruption. Institutions were corrupt and people had to rely on private detectives. Due to widespread corruption and high crime rates the actions of the characters appear to be realistic to readers. The actions of Spade throughout the novel make sense when one takes into account the setting. His character appeared to be corrupted and driven alone by financial gains, but he was working through the ‘fog’ and ‘darkness’ to solve the case and get justice.