This essay will explore how social criticism is performed in two novels of Dashiell Hammett. Red Harvest is often described as “the first hard-boiled novel”, giving it the status of a literary landmark. Here the author gives us a clear impression of his characteristic world and his social vision of it. Therefore, the novel appears to be an interesting subject to look how this kind of literature employs social criticism.
The other book that will be examined here is The Maltese Falcon, one of the most popular and best known hard-boiled crime novels ever, that has served as a model for many authors. As Robert Shulman argues, Hammet gives his “social vision its fullest expression” in this novel, showing “his concern with American individualism”. Thus, as this examination is limited to two works, it seems most sensible to use The Maltese Falcon along with Red Harvest for this purpose to produce a good insight into the social criticism in Hammett’s books.
Before beginning with the study, it is necessary to make clear what ‘social criticism’ is here, as the term itself has a wide meaning. ‘Social’ will be discussed in the sense, as the Merriam-Webster dictionary puts it, “of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society”. This means that in a smaller sense, the term ‘social’ concerns the way the individuals, the characters of the novels, deal with each other, and, in a larger sense, how the society is organized and how its institutions treat the individual and the group, which also brings economic and political components into the scope of the study.
The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest are particularly well suited for such a study, as they both use distinct, in some points different, in some points similar ways to criticize. They also provide a look at different issues, therefore the essay will be able to cover a greater area combining the research results from the two novels.
First, the essay will focus on the wider relations in society, the political and economical and the legal. Then, the individual relations among the characters and the criticism of them will be observed. Later, this work will also explore how the society influences the individual – here the hero – in his actions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Society in Hammett’s Novels
2.1 Criticism of Capitalism
2.2 Politics and the Law
2.3 Relations among the Individuals
2.3.1 Love
2.3.2 Family relations
3. Hammett’s Heroes
3.1 The World’s Influence on the Hero
3.2 New Individualism
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This academic paper examines how Dashiell Hammett employs social criticism within his hard-boiled crime novels Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon. The central research aim is to analyze how Hammett depicts the structural disorder of American society, the corruption of its institutions, and the moral erosion of individuals caught in a cycle of greed and self-interest.
- The intersection of capitalism, political corruption, and the legal system in Hammett's fictional worlds.
- The breakdown of interpersonal morality, specifically within romantic and family relationships.
- The psychological impact of a violent, corrupt environment on the detective protagonist.
- The tension between 'old individualism' (pure self-interest) and 'new individualism' (loyalty beyond the self).
- The departure of hard-boiled literature from the traditional 'restoration of order' found in British detective fiction.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Criticism of Capitalism
In the beginning of the novel, the main protagonist and first-person narrator of Red Harvest, the nameless Continental Op, arrives in the Montana mining town named Personville. What he finds here is a community that is suffering from the most harmful consequences of capitalism. As we learn from a conversation of the Op with Bill Quint, Industrial Workers of the World leader in Personville, the town is ‘owned’ by the monopolist Elihu Willsson.
For forty years […] [he] had owned Personville, heart, soul, skin and guts. He was president and majority stockholder of the Personville Mining Corporation, ditto of the First National Bank, owner of the Morning Herald, and Evening Herald, the city’s only newspapers, and at least part owner of nearly every other enterprise of any importance. Along with these pieces of property he owned a United States senator, a couple of representatives, the governor, the mayor, and most of the state legislature. Elihu Willsson was Personville, and he was almost the whole state.
The town being the personal property of one man is an idea that reflects what had happened to many American communities from the ending of the nineteenth century until the first decades of the twentieth century. A power-hungry individual takes over a town and by gaining monopolistic control over everything, he manages to suppress those important ideological ideas of the USA of democracy and citizen involvement. Personville is a powerful depiction of “the debased social and political climate existing in America during the 1920s”. Although the novel is set and written before the Great Depression, the American economy was already in a bad state. Strikes were the order of the day, workers had to suffer hardship while big bosses like Willsson were rolling in money.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines Hammett's role as a pioneer of hard-boiled fiction and defines the scope of the study regarding social criticism in Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon.
2. The Society in Hammett’s Novels: Analyzes the structural decay in Hammett’s fictional settings, characterized by economic corruption, political failure, and the disintegration of human bonds.
2.1 Criticism of Capitalism: Examines how the monopolization of power in Red Harvest serves as a critique of American capitalism and its destructive influence on democracy.
2.2 Politics and the Law: Explores the systemic corruption within police forces and political institutions in both novels, illustrating how law enforcement agents often mirror the criminals they pursue.
2.3 Relations among the Individuals: Discusses the pervasive culture of deception and self-interest that defines all relationships within the novels.
2.3.1 Love: Details how romantic entanglements are weaponized and exploited by characters, often leading to tragic, violent outcomes.
2.3.2 Family relations: Argues that even traditional family ties are superseded by personal ambition and betrayal, as seen in the relationships between fathers and sons or father-figures.
3. Hammett’s Heroes: Investigates the moral transformation of the detective protagonists when exposed to the harsh, corrupt environments of their respective stories.
3.1 The World’s Influence on the Hero: Focuses on the internal struggle of the Continental Op and Sam Spade as they navigate and adapt to a world governed by violence.
3.2 New Individualism: Compares the 'old' individualism of greed with a developing 'new' individualism that hints at loyalty beyond personal gain.
4. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, noting that Hammett exposes the evils of society without offering easy solutions or moralistic endings.
5. Bibliography: Lists the primary literature and scholarly sources utilized in the analysis.
Keywords
Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest, The Maltese Falcon, Hard-boiled fiction, Social criticism, Capitalism, Individualism, Crime novel, Corruption, Continental Op, Sam Spade, American literature, Moral decay, Twentieth century, Political critique.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper analyzes the function of social criticism in Dashiell Hammett's novels Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon, focusing on how he depicts society's moral and structural failings.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Key themes include the critique of capitalism, political and legal corruption, the collapse of moral standards in interpersonal relationships, and the evolution of the detective as a hero in a corrupt world.
What is the central research question?
The research explores how Hammett uses his narratives not just to depict social conditions, but to actively criticize the ethical consequences of modern American life and economic structures.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The work employs a literary analysis method, examining text, character development, and narrative structure to draw parallels between the fictional social conditions and historical US realities.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section investigates the society in Hammett's work (capitalism, politics), individual relationships (love, family), and the portrayal of the hero's struggle against his environment.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include hard-boiled fiction, social criticism, capitalism, individualism, and literary analysis of Dashiell Hammett's novels.
How does the author interpret 'Personville' in Red Harvest?
The paper argues that 'Personville' (or 'Poisonville') serves as a metaphor for a society infected by corruption and capitalist greed, representing a microcosm of broader American societal problems.
What is 'new individualism' in the context of the protagonists?
It refers to a shift where characters like the Continental Op and Sam Spade show traces of loyalty to values beyond their own self-interest, though the paper notes this is often a difficult and incomplete process.
Why does the author conclude that there is no happy ending?
The author argues that in hard-boiled fiction, the restoration of order is purely functional; it does not lead to a better world, leaving the detective isolated and the societal issues largely unresolved.
- Quote paper
- Ole Wagner (Author), 2007, Social criticism in Dashiell Hammett’s "Red Harvest" and "The Maltese Falcon", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/89493
