Research Paper the Maltese Falcon: Existentialism Essay

Dashiell Hammett, father of the American hard-bubbled type, is broadly known for creating a stifling universe of authenticity in his works (â€Å"Hard-bubbled fiction†). As per Paul Abraham’s â€Å"On re-perusing The Maltese Falcon,† the practical climate of Hammett’s third novel is traditionalist to the post-war unrest in which the work was conceived (97). This gives the perfect establishment to unpretentious philosophical ideas of existentialism, for example, journeys for truth, self ID, and the noteworthiness of presence to work all through the novel. Richard Layman, in his basic survey of Hammett’s epic (likewise named The Maltese Falcon), recommends that the methods of reasoning of Hammett’s age can be found inside the content of his novel (71). Hammett passes on an existential subject in his work The Maltese Falcon through his utilization of topics of request and self ingested characters just as his Flitcraft anecdote. Existentialism, in a basic structure, is a way of thinking concerning presence and its noteworthiness. Layman declares that â€Å"[existentialism] had its underlying foundations in the mid-nineteenth century and prospered in the United States from the 1930s until the 1960s† (71). As per the web-article â€Å"World War I† from the New World Encyclopedia, ensuing to the Great War, â€Å"the idealism for world tranquility of the 1900s was completely gone. † Therefore, without the blinders of social good faith, American culture could address thoughts, for example, the event of mass decimation in a â€Å"just† world and the centrality of presence in such a world. Hammett’s firsthand involvement in the existential crisisâ€caused by what the recorded setting from the site â€Å"The Maltese Falcon† presents as worldwide wars, the Great Depression, and different battles of the 1930sâ€leads Hammett to utilize various procedures all through his work, giving unpretentious inferences to existentialism. One technique through which Hammett passes on existentialistic thought is through his topics of request in The Maltese Falcon. The plot is fixated on the persistent mission for a worshiped iconâ€the Maltese hawk, a valuable bejeweled winged animal. Hammett fuses a clerical topic through this quest for a symbol. The mission for their symbol at last prompts the end of the characters associated with its pursuit. It takes the personality and climatically the life of the horde manager Gutman. Brigid, the femme fatale, additionally loses in this interest, for she is left to the kindness of the law in the last pages. Regardless of whether passing or detainment torment the characters in question, the journey for a symbol expends their lives. Hammett enlightens the hindering outcomes of such missions through the previously mentioned loss of character, life, and opportunity. This message is countered by the existentialistic denouncement everything being equal. Existentialism gives a straightforward answer for such pointless journeys: lives are not squandered in the pursuit of a symbol. In quest for a valuable symbol, all characters lose themselvesâ€a base of the existentialist emergency: loss of self, doubting of presence (â€Å"Existentialism†). Another subject of request in Hammett’s epic arrangements with the steady quest for reality. Spade, the hero, is tormented by the equivocalness of truth all through the novel. Spade is compelled to observe lies from reality inside the principal pages of the novel, where he meets Brigid, or rather â€Å"Miss Wonderly† as she is named upon essential presentation. Brigid, infamous for her misleading ways, admits to Spade, when a contributed relationship is set up between the two: â€Å"I am a liar. I have consistently been a liar† (353). Layman sees that â€Å"the challenge for Spade in the book is to make up the standards as he comes; to choose for himself, without outside direction, what he accepts and what he accepts in† (71). These choices shape Spade’s activities and help to characterize his character. Spade, concerning himself â€Å"with the journey for pertinence and authenticity,† as David Pickus writes in his uncover on existentialism, isn't the main character associated with the quest for truth (17). Brigid, Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer are compelled to deal with the mission for truth and validness when it is found their bird of prey is a simple creation of the genuine Maltese hawk. In the wake of shaving the dark lacquer from the base of the hawk Gutman shouts â€Å"it’s a phony. † Gutman responds with his â€Å"breath [hissing] between his teeth† and â€Å"his face [becoming] bloated with hot blood† (430). This is illustrative of the indignation Gutman has upon the acknowledgment of this on-going quest for realness. Another strategy where Hammett uncovers existentialistic hints is through his self-consumed characters. Layman expounds on Spade: â€Å"He is characterizing what his identity is. That is the least complex explanation of the way of thinking of existentialism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (71). Spade depends entirely on himself and frequently extends the hands of the law. He subverts the police so as to forestall impedance inside his examinations, reprimanding their power. For instance, when Dundy, a cop tells Spade, â€Å"You’ve pulled off this and you’ve pulled off that, however you can’t keep it up until the end of time. † Spade unemotionally answers: â€Å"Stop me when you can† (341). The article from the Philosophy site, named â€Å"Existentialism† states that â€Å"an existentialist accepts that an individual ought to be compelled to pick and be mindful without the assistance of laws, ethnic principles, or customs. † Spade embodies this thought with his activities all through the novel. Brigid is another character who doesn't work inside the domain of laws and rules; be that as it may, she is a less mindful character than Spade. Brigid’s endeavors are put into self-protection. She constantly battles to remain one stride in front of everybody through making a snare of untruths, which at last turns into a characterizing component of her character. Her trickery and fixation on getting her wants without worry for result or notoriety shows her loss of self in quest for something useless; she turns out to be simply a wanton lady with no obvious character. Notwithstanding his portrayal, Hammett likewise uses the Flitcraft anecdote as a methods for passing on existentialistic thought. Martin Harris composes: â€Å"The Flitcraft illustration has been analyzed intently by the individuals who see the story giving a significant key to Hammett’s emotions about the importance (or scarcity in that department) of human existence† (241). The Flitcraft anecdote recounts to the account of a man who totally completely changed himself in outcome of one arbitrary occasion. Flitcraft, a fulfilled family man, experienced a brush with death by means of a development shaft diving into his way. This occasion caused him to mull over the irregularity of lifeâ€there are no surenesses. Spade tells Brigid: â€Å"[Flitcraft] felt like someone had taken the cover off life and let him take a gander at the works† (335). Flitcraft comprehended the vulnerability of life after this experience. With this revelation Flitcraft started another life; he took the irregularity of life and joined it into his reality. Mindful of mortality and the centrality of one’s character, Flitcraft presented himself to a substitute life. While Flitcraft eventually wound up settling once more into his earlier way of life, the radiance of his brush with death allowed him to delight in existentialism, for as indicated by the web-article â€Å"Existentialism† the inquiry of self-being is a crucial component of the existential way of thinking. Regardless of whether it is through different topics, characters, or a very much positioned account, the undercurrents of existentialism exist inside the pages of Hammett’s tale. Hammett adequately joined subjects from his time into his writing. In a period where the â€Å"spirit of confidence in the public arena was destroyed,† Hammett recognized authenticity inside the content of his craft (â€Å"Existentialism†). While existentialism no longer has an inebriating hang on current society, it lives in the pages of compelling creators. The Maltese Falcon’s inconspicuous prompts to such incredible philosophical thoughts aid the centrality that Hammett’s works hold right up 'til the present time. Works Cited Abrahams, Paul P. â€Å"On re-perusing The Maltese Falcon. † Journal of American Culture 18. 1 (1995): 97-107. Scholastic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 July 2010. Dooley, Dennis. Dashiell Hammett. New York: F. Ungar Pub. , 1984. Print. â€Å"Existentialism. † Philosophy. AllAboutPhilosophy. organization, 2010. Web. 01 Aug. 2010. . Hammett, Dashiell. The Novels of Dashiell Hammett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965. Print. â€Å"Hard-bubbled Fiction. † Encyclop? dia Britannica, 2010. Web. 30 July 2010. . Harris, Martin. â€Å"Hammett’s Flitcraft Parable, The Stepfather, and the Significance of Falling Beams. † Literature Film Quarterly 34. 3 (2006): 240-248. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 15 July 2010. Layman, Richard. The Maltese Falcon. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Print. â€Å"The Maltese Falcon. † The Big Read. National Endowment for the Arts, 2010. Web. 16 July 2010. . Metress, Christopher, ed. The Critical Response to Dashiell Hammett. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994. Print. Pickus, David. â€Å"Paperback Authenticity: Walter Kaufmann and Existentialism. † Philosophy and Literature 34. 1 (2010): 17-31. Philosopher’s Index. EBSCO. Web. 31 July 2010. â€Å"World War I. † New World Encyclopedia. 09 May 2008. Web. 06 Aug. 2010.