The Maltese Falcon
A Unique Setting in the Changing World of Early 20th Century Detective FictionThe Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920's San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett's literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery. Dashiell Hammett called the San Francisco area home from 1920 until 1936. For a portion of those fourteen years, he shared an apartment on Eddy Street
Therefore, it is no surprise that Hammett used San Francisco as the setting of The Maltese Falcon to further illustrate the exotic and striking nature of the plot and characters within the text (Dumenil 211). It was in this library that Dashiell Hammett saw his future. Private Eyes: One Hundred and One Knights. The phrase, "air faintly scented with ammonia" informs the reader that the story's setting is near a body of water, as an ammonia smell indicates nearby salt water. Moreover, the foggy San Francisco night foreshadows the complex mystery that will surround Archer's death and the location of the maltese falcon. This passage demonstrates Hammett's ability to reveal the setting to the reader without being overly presumptuous about it: furthermore, it creates a visual image of a windy city located on the water without ever mentioning a body of water or the wind. Whatever Happened to Sherlock Holmes: Detective Fiction, Popular Theology, and Society. Bibliography Works CitedBaker, Robert and Nietzel, Michael T. The plot of The Maltese Falcon would not be nearly as believable if it were set in Omaha, since people do not automatically associate crime with the Nebraska town. Chapter Two begins with Spade's discovery that his partner, Miles Archer, has been murdered. The ashes on the desk twitched and crawled in the current" (4). (79)Hammett contributed stories to Black Mask for ten years until The Maltese Falcon gained public and literary acclaim.
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Acceptance Essays
