ipl-logo

Corruption In The Maltese Falcon

665 Words3 Pages

Although the two novels are set in different times in the twentieth century, they both depict a society where criminal activity seems to be embedded in most of their environment. For instance, in Bitter Medicine Parestky creates a complicated crime scene where various parts of society and issues are connected, some of these include the gangster criminality with Sergio, racism in the treatment of Consuelo and perhaps even Malcolm's death, and the question of abortion. In The Maltese Falcon has less various social issues, yet it does highlight the vast criminal scene existing in his city. Consequently this has implications when solving a crime as one case solved does not automatically mean a restoration in society. As Lee Horsley says: “A little …show more content…

To have this argument in mind, the question of the corruption of the legal institutions can be related back to the novels. V.I.'s choice to leave her job as a public defender to become a detective was done as she believed that as Lawyer she did not change things for the better.6 This change of career can signify two things, on the one hand she can believe that the world cannot be changed as she states that “I don't have such grand ideals as a detective. Not only do I not think I can save the world; I suspect most people are past redemption.”7 On the other hand, she can realise that crimes and problems can not only be solved by legal means. Although she might not see herself as a hero and just someone who cleans up “little trash piles here and there,”8 the fact that she remains a detective who's purpose is to detect and solve crime means that she must see some benefit in being a detective rather than a lawyer. Whether it is belief that in the way she can better the world, or if she as a character prefers her freedom away from the restrictions of the law is not made very clear. Yet, the possible motive is there, especially as she herself knows the possible corruption that takes place within the legal institution. For instance, criminals can get away with things due to their right of having a lawyer. This is why Sergio's

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of John Wade's In The Lake Of The Woods

    1666 Words  | 7 Pages

    Progressing through the novel, the length of hypothesis’ given lengthens to account for an increased amount of background that the reader has accumulated, taking more factors into consideration. The active knowledge of the narrator’s game is proposed as “although this plethora of information may seem valuable, it will lead the reader only further into his own Lake of the Woods, a place where facts are useless and conjecture supplies only open-ended answers” (Radelich 572). Suggests that the more that is believed to be known, the more the reader is thrown into a spiral of information that is not particularly useful in the determination of guilt of John Wade. In the whirlwind of information where information flows as the narrator allows and possible explanations are forged, the ability of the narrator to sway the audience is optimized. Observed most clearly in the evidence sections, the narrator speaks directly to the audience about the evidence and what is to be made of it.

    Read More

  • Individuality In The Maltese Falcon

    1733 Words  | 7 Pages

    Athanasourelis’s article depicts Sam Spade’s individuality through his actions leading up to Brigid O’Shaughnessy’s conviction. Sam’s initial intentions are to help Brigid avoid the police. Upon coming to the conclusion that Brigid is the only suspect in the murder of Archer, Sam knows he has to turn her into the authorities. The article discusses that although it may seem as if Sam is acting justly, he is truly just turning Brigid in to avoid his own persecution for the crimes others committed. Hammett establishes Sam’s morals frequently throughout the novel by further describing his character as a “hard-boiled detective”.

    Read More

  • Kate Warne: The First Female Detective

    970 Words  | 4 Pages

    Allan Pinkerton said “It is not custom to employ women detectives.” Kate Warne, trying to prove a point says, women would be “Most useful in

    Read More

  • The Role Of Corruption In The Gilded Age

    223 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Gilded Age was a period after the Civil War, between the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, the United States went through a period of economical, political and social growth. However, Corruption was common throughout the Gilded Age and greatly affected the United States of America. Railroad Corruption, such as Credit Mobilier, a railroad construction company for the Union Pacific RailRoad that overcharged the public for construction costs, Political Corruption that was based around various scandals as well as Patronage, were all forms of corruption that took place throughout the Gilded Age. Union Pacific Railroad stockholders formed a company known as the Credit Mobilier of America.

    Read More

  • Integrity In The Palace Thief

    837 Words  | 4 Pages

    INTEGRITY Integrity is important for many reasons. The author, Ethan Canin, uses integrity as the central idea of his short story, “The Palace Thief”. The narrator, Hundert, believes it's his job to mold his students’ characters,so that these boys could grow up to become powerful leaders with good morals.

    Read More

  • The Man With The Twisted Lip By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    834 Words  | 4 Pages

    Literary texts in which London is the primary setting often discuss the crime that exists within the city. In some, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’, crime and its prevalence in London drives the central storyline. In others, crime feeds into the overall representation of the city that the text presents, as in John Gay’s Trivia, or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London. By writing the city in relation to the crime within, both Gay and Doyle create a London that by its nature enables and aids crime, and use its presence to facilitate the distinct messages within their texts.

    Read More

  • Revenge, Morality, And Justice In Killings By Andre Dubus

    834 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ideas of justice and morality is questioned constantly through out the short story.

    Read More

  • The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison Chapter 2 Analysis

    503 Words  | 3 Pages

    Short Summary: Chapter 2 of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison was about how the way society sees crime can be distorted by the media, the justice system, and the information we are presented with about what crime really is. It points out that medical neglect, known environmental hazards, dangerous workplace conditions, and poverty cause more injuries yearly than murders, assaults, and robberies. Most people see the latter as “crime,” but not the former. Long Summary: Chapter 2 of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison discusses people’s skewed perspective when it comes to what they think crime really is. The reader is asked to do an exercise regarding their own reason.

    Read More

  • The Judge Pyncheon Character Analysis

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    The suggestion that the Judge’s life contains “splendid rubbish [...] to cover up and paralyze a more active and subtle conscience” displays the duality of the characterization which the narrator creates. The juxtaposition of “splendid” and “rubbish” serve to expose the Judge’s deteriorating morals, while crafting the surface of respectability. This subtle use of contrasting opinions aids to establish the narrator’s sarcastic tone, simultaneously displaying the judge’s desired character and then undermining that character with suggestions of his true nature. The choice of the word “rubbish” especially highlights the sarcastic tone, equating the sequence of Judge Pyncheon’s life to that of trash, worthy of nothing. This carefully placed, critical diction reveals the true feelings of the narrator, bolstering his sarcasm.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Corruption In Fahrenheit 451

    650 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 Essay In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 society is corrupt. People only know what the government wants them to know and the government is controlling this by making everyone believe communication is bad. Also the people have little knowledge because books have been outlawed and destroyed. By not having knowledge the people believe anything the government tells them but what they don’t know is that there are major wars going on that are getting covered up.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None

    1221 Words  | 5 Pages

    As character after character perishes, suspense increases because the reader’s prior suspicions are progressively cut short. The final rule that Christie breaks is that which the detective cannot be the criminal. Each character plays a role of detective in this novel for each character is seemingly equally as confused about the situation as the next. The thoughts of all ten strangers are spelled out on the pages cross-accusing every single character - even those of Justice Wargrave. He himself is the one to state, “it is perfectly clear.

    Read More

  • Sexism In Trifles By Susan Glaspell

    1611 Words  | 7 Pages

    The killing of John Wright represents the death of prejudice attitude since men were beginning to tolerate women in all aspects of society. One sign that women were gaining ground was the fact that they were allowed to be at the crime scene. It is peculiar that the men even allowed the women to be there. The author attempts to balance this out by making the women’s reason to be there is to collect things for

    Read More

  • Training Day Movie Analysis

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lastly, the criminal justice process or the legal consequences that the criminals face are right but not necessarily fair because occasionally the process supports corruption. In other words, the criminals and drugs dealers in the movie do not face the right legal consequences because the criminal justice process including the judges is corrupt. His life experiences with drug dealers, the drugs, and crime in the streets and the corrupt legal system contribute to Harris’

    Read More

  • Corruption In Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises

    541 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since religions and beliefs began to form, corruption has always been present in their midst. Sometimes it is due to greed, like indulgences, other times it is due to power and authority. In The Sun Also Rises, this same exploitation is prevalent in the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religions (the faiths of three characters: Jake, Bill, and Cohn). The type of corruption present in the novel is that having a faith, or one that has a higher morality, makes you superior to those that do not. Ernest Hemingway uses irony and negative connotations to develop this theme that religion is corrupt.

    Read More

  • The Golden Age Of Detective Fiction Analysis

    1485 Words  | 6 Pages

    The authors of the Golden Age shows their faith and belief in the detectives (emphatically vulnerable detectives). The detectives in these stories dominate the plot and solve the mystery case by influencing the perspective of the reader. The detectives mostly are self-conscious and Golden Age does not expect the reader to solve the crime ahead of the detective. They are decidedly unaggressive, non-god like, nondominant and do not exude ‘macho-like’ qualities of a ‘real he-man’. In the Detective Fiction, detectives fall into three broad categories; amateurs, private investigators, and the professional police.

    Read More

More about Corruption In The Maltese Falcon

Open Document