Opening of The Maltese Falcon
...nt man. The struggle to find out what happened to Miss Wonderly’s sister and to discover what part Floyd Thursby played in her disappearance provides a captivating opening to the novel. There is a sexual element added to the novel in that Spade’s client is an extremely beautiful woman. The deadline to find her in two weeks add a sense of urgency to the story and helps to capture the reader in the pace of the novel. One of the most effective ways that Hammett adds drama and suspense is by not presenting all of the information available. There are a number of partial facts provided in the first six pages that make the reader wonder. By providing only certain parts of the facts and making ambiguous statements, he forces the reader to make assumptions. The reader is then curious to see if the assumptions he made were the correct ones. For example, Spade calls his secretary, Effie Perine, “darling” and “sweetheart”. The author leaves it unclear as to whether there is a relationship between them or if he is just being polite. Hammett also describes Spade as “looking pleasantly like a blond Satan”(3). This could be taken as a compliment, an insult, or an observation of the relationship between Spade’s appearance and his personality. Statements such as this spark the reader’s curiousity, making him want to read further for clarification of such an odd announcement. Perhaps the most powerful tool Hammett uses in drawing in his audience is his close attention to detail. The extensive physical descriptions of the characters and minute background details allow the reader to better envision the scenes as they unfold. Miles Arche...