The Maltese Falcon
By Brian Corcoran
Sam Spade
Spade is the main character in The Maltese Falcon. He is a tall, blond, pleasantly looking detective who got involved in the case concerning the Maltese Falcon. Accused of killing Thursby and Miles Archer. He was suspected of killing these men so he can marry Iva Archer. It takes him the entirety of the story to figure out how he was used by others to get the falcon. The internal conflict he was having was not being able to find out the truth. He also discovers the murderers of Miles and Thursby and arrests Brigid O'Shaughnessy.
The Maltese Falcon Itself
The Maltese Falcon was originally used by the Knight Templars of Malta in 1539 to pay tribute to King Charles V. The falcon was made of gold and was covered with the rarest jewels from top to bottom. Upon delivery, pirates stole the falcon and the whereabouts of the priceless object are unknown. People will continue to search for this lost piece of history.
Greed
Greed is the most important theme in the book. It demonstrates everything people will do when they want something enough. In this case, the Falcon, a priceless possession, causes people to murder others to get their hands on it. Without greed being in the book, there would be no plot. Everyone wouldn't care about possessing the Falcon or the events would be much less intense or wouldn't even happen. In the text, Spade's partner is murdered by Brigid. This is all because she wanted to have the falcon all to herself. Another example of greed in the text is Spade accepting to take part in the case. He wanted to do it because he wanted to find out who the murderer of his partner was and also because the case had good pay.
Characterization
Characterization is a big part of the book. It shows how people act differently then they regularly do when money is involved. Greed caused the characters in the book that are explained as a regular person to do evil things such as murder. For example, Brigid O'Shaughnessy is Sam Spade's client. She is a tall and attractive woman who seems to be on Spade's side of the case, but the whole time she killed Miles Archer and tried to convince Sam to let her go free of charge al because of her greed for the Falcon.
Praise or Pan
I recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining crime story. Also anyone who wants a bit of mystery in the book will enjoy it and wont be able to put the book down. This book will be a good read to anyone interested in noir too.