1. THE MALTESE FALCON

2.  Hammett was born in 1894 in St. Mary’s County, MD.  He grew up on his family farm called Hopewell and Aim.  He enjoyed reading, but was forced to quit school to begin working at 14 years old to help his family.  In 1915, he got a job filing case reports on the Pinkerton Detective agency.  He joined the Army in 1918, but was honorably discharged due to illness. While in the military hospital, he met his future wife Josephine Dolan, who was a nurse.  They moved to San Francisco and their first daughter was born.  After a year there, Hammett began writing short stories for magazines. ABOUT DASHIELL HAMMETT

3.  Josephine and Hammett separated in 1929.  After he published The Maltese Falcon, Hammett moved to New York.  In 1934, Hammett stopped writing and became focused on politics.  He re-entered the Army in 1942 and edited the newspaper on his Alaskan base.  In the 1950’s Hammett was accused of being a Communist and spent six months in jail. Copies of his books were also removed from state libraries, but these were later restored by Pres. Eisenhower.  Hammett died in 1961 and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.  In all during his career, Hammett had written 80 short stories and 5 novels. HAMMETT CONTINUED

4.  The Maltese Falcon is set in San Francisco in 1928. The action takes place from Wednesday, December 5 through Monday December 10.  Since the story is set prior to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, at the time, San Francisco experienced growth and wealth.  In 1920, more than a half a million people lived in San Francisco (the 12 th largest city in the US).  During this time, the bay bridges did not exist, so people would have had to ferry around the bay.  San Francisco was an important shipping port.  At the time, there was a lot of political and judicial corruption. BACKGROUND

5.  Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty about the outcome of events, which keeps you interested in a story’s plot. Writers create suspense by hinting at an outcome or delaying an event that you know is coming. In other words, suspense is a kind of game that writers play with you, showing you some things and hinting at others.  Motivation: The reason why a character thinks, acts, feels, or says what they do.  Archetype: A character, setting, elements of plot, or image that reoccurs in different works of literature.  Symbolism: When something stands for another thing beyond itself.  Setting: The time and place in which the story takes place.  Theme: a perception about life or human nature that the writer wants to share with the reader.  Dialogue: When characters speak. This is usually set off by quotation marks. LIT TERMS

6.  Point of view: the vantage point from which the story is told.  First person: The narrator is a character in the story, and he/she uses first person pronouns such as I.  Third person limited: The narrator is looking in observing the action of the story. Narrator does not refer to himself or herself.  Third person omniscient: The narrator is looking in observing the action of the story. Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters; readers get insight into several characters.  Protagonist: the main character  Antagonist: The character who opposes the protagonist  Foil: A character that has traits which are opposite from ones of the main characters, in order to highlight various features of that main character's personality.  Flashback: A way for the author to present material that happened earlier before this point of the story.  Foreshadowing: The author gives hints about future events. LIT TERMS…CONT

7.  Sam Spade: Private detective (archetypal); cool and strong; in his mid-thirties; Spade’s personal code drives him to avenge his partner’s murder.  Miles Archer: Spade’s partner; in his mid-forties; not very observant or bright.  Brigid O’Shaughnessy aka Miss Wonderly: Compulsive liar; beautiful; manipulative; dangerous.  Joel Cairo: a polished but flawed crook.  Effie Perine: Spade’s secretary; trusting and devoted.  Casper Gutman: Cairo’s employer. He is obsessed with the falcon.  Wilmer: Works for Gutman; is a smart-mouth, but is not too smart intellectually. THE MAIN CHARACTERS