Research Paper the Maltese Falcon: Existentialism Essay

Dashiell Hammett, father of the American hard-bubbled classification, is generally known for delivering 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 environment of Hammett’s third novel is reactionary to the post-war disturbance in which the work was conceived (97). This gives the perfect establishment to unobtrusive philosophical ideas of existentialism, for example, journeys for truth, self distinguishing proof, and the criticalness of presence to work all through the novel. Richard Layman, in his basic audit of Hammett’s tale (additionally titled The Maltese Falcon), suggests 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 story. Existentialism, in a basic structure, is a way of thinking concerning presence and its criticalness. Layman attests that â€Å"[existentialism] had its foundations in the mid-nineteenth century and thrived 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, resulting to the Great War, â€Å"the good faith for world tranquility of the 1900s was totally gone. † Therefore, without the blinders of social positive thinking, American culture could address thoughts, for example, the event of mass demolition in a â€Å"just† world and the essentialness of presence in such a world. Hammett’s firsthand involvement in the existential crisisâ€caused by what the authentic 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 methods all through his work, giving inconspicuous implications to existentialism. One strategy through which Hammett passes on existentialistic thought is through his subjects of request in The Maltese Falcon. The plot is focused on the ceaseless journey for a worshiped iconâ€the Maltese hawk, a valuable bejeweled feathered creature. Hammett fuses a ministerial subject through this quest for a symbol. The mission for their symbol eventually 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, likewise loses in this interest, for she is left to the kindness of the law in the last pages. Regardless of whether demise or detainment torment the characters in question, the mission for a symbol devours their lives. Hammett lights up the impeding outcomes of such journeys 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 useless missions: 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 consistent quest for reality. Spade, the hero, is tormented by the uncertainty of truth all through the novel. Spade is compelled to recognize 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 built 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 principles 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 significance and authenticity,† as David Pickus writes in his uncover on existentialism, isn't the main character engaged with the quest for truth (17). Brigid, Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer are compelled to grapple with the mission for truth and realness when it is found their bird of prey is a simple creation of the genuine Maltese hawk. In the wake of shaving the dark polish from the base of the bird of prey 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 outrage Gutman has upon the acknowledgment of this on-going quest for realness. Another strategy wherein Hammett reveals existentialistic feelings is through his self-assimilated characters. Layman expounds on Spade: â€Å"He is characterizing what his identity is. That is the least complex articulation of the way of thinking of existentialism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (71). Spade depends exclusively on himself and regularly extends the hands of the law. He subverts the police so as to forestall obstruction 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, yet you can’t keep it up until the end of time. † Spade unresponsively answers: â€Å"Stop me when you can† (341). The article from the Philosophy site, titled â€Å"Existentialism† states that â€Å"an existentialist accepts that an individual ought to be compelled to pick and be dependable without the assistance of laws, ethnic guidelines, or conventions. † Spade encapsulates this thought with his activities all through the novel. Brigid is another character who doesn't work inside the domain of laws and rules; notwithstanding, she is a less mindful character than Spade. Brigid’s endeavors are put into self-conservation. She constantly battles to remain one stride in front of everybody through making a snare of falsehoods, which eventually turns into a characterizing component of her character. Her trickiness 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 just a wanton lady with no obvious personality. Notwithstanding his portrayal, Hammett additionally uses the Flitcraft story as a methods for passing on existentialistic thought. Martin Harris composes: â€Å"The Flitcraft anecdote has been inspected intently by the individuals who see the story giving a significant key to Hammett’s sentiments about the importance (or scarcity in that department) of human existence† (241). The Flitcraft anecdote recounts to the narrative of a man who totally transformed himself in outcome of one arbitrary occasion. Flitcraft, a fulfilled family man, experienced a brush with death by means of a development pillar diving into his way. This occasion caused him to think about the irregularity of lifeâ€there are no assurances. Spade tells Brigid: â€Å"[Flitcraft] felt like someone had taken the top 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 consolidated it into his reality. Mindful of mortality and the importance of one’s character, Flitcraft presented himself to a substitute life. While Flitcraft at last wound up settling once more into his earlier way of life, the luminosity of his brush with death allowed him to delight in existentialism, for as indicated by the web-article â€Å"Existentialism† the pursuit of self-being is a crucial component of the existential way of thinking. Regardless of whether it is through different subjects, characters, or a very much positioned story, the undercurrents of existentialism exist inside the pages of Hammett’s tale. Hammett viably fused topics from his time into his writing. In a period where the â€Å"spirit of confidence in the public eye was destroyed,† Hammett recognized authenticity inside the content of his specialty (â€Å"Existentialism†). While existentialism no longer has an inebriating hang on present day society, it lives in the pages of compelling creators. The Maltese Falcon’s inconspicuous signals to such incredible philosophical thoughts aid the criticalness 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.