Santa 1

Dylan Santa

Mrs. Gardner

English 10H/Per 6

19 October 2016

Annotated Bibliography

Burlamacchi, Maurizio. Nobility, Honour and Glory: a Brief Military History of the Order of Malta.

Florence, Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki, 2013.

Burlamacchi--an expert in incunabula, early printed books, as well as a knight of the Order of

Malta--devotedly retells the rich, internationally intertwining history of the Sovereign Military

Order of Malta (SMOM). From its conception in 1099 to its 250 year occupation of Malta to its

present day landlessness, the SMOM rebased, yet never realigned itself, multiple times

throughout the history of the Mediterranean. Also included is the Tribute of the Maltese Falcon,

The Maltese Falcons namesake.

Concerning the matter of the Tribute of the Maltese Falcon and Hammetts novel, the history of

the Order outlined in Burlamacchis and Hammetts novels aligns to show truth in The Maltese

Falcon. Because Burlamacchis novel, exhaustively full of religious and historical diction,

supports and reinforces the historical content in The Maltese Falcon, the story profoundly engulfs

the reader with intrigue and multitudinous layers of factual and pious context.

Foster, Charles. Police Work in the 1920s. Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, SF Museum,

www.sfmuseum.org/sfpd/sfpd3.html.
 Santa 2

Charles Foster, a former, 1920s beat cop, forthrightly states the repetitively crimeless and

mundane job of police officers, and subsequently detectives, during the roaring twenties in San

Francisco. Paramountly, Fosters experiences provide a stark contrast between the formerly

sedate quality of the streets of pre-Depression San Francisco and their corresponding, modern,

worrisome character.

The article, saturated with colloquialism, offers a common mans perspective on a common days

tasks. Conversely, in the story of The Maltese Falcon, the protagonist Sam Spade sees an

unbounded amount of tasks with bottomless intrigue on the very same streets. The article

provides an essential look into actual 1920s police and investigative work that ultimately shows

Dashiell Hammetts story to be highly improbable.

Kelly, David. "Critical Essay on 'The Maltese Falcon'." Novels for Students, edited by Ira Mark Milne

and Timothy Sisler, vol. 21, Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=sant95918&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1420064890

&it=r&asid=86ae09e24b309629a013e45bd7d33d95. Accessed 6 Nov. 2016.

Kelly, author, provides a revealing take on Hammetts novel, particularly concerning the private

man that is Sam Spade. By pointing out how distant, shallow, and impersonal third person is in

The Maltese Falcon, Kelly exposes the previously undisclosed Sam Spade as predeterminately

resolute. Without any inner thoughts provided, Kelly must primarily take into account Spades

final actions versus his others.

 Santa 3

Although Kelly focuses highly on the impact of The Maltese Falcon on the mystery genre, the

heart of his essay seeks to reveal the enigmatic thoughts and behaviors of Sam Spade which third

person ultimately shrouds from the reader. Therefore, the resulting conclusion that Spade pursues

not only investigative leads, but a mundane, judicious life as well undoubtedly provides insight to

his questionable actions throughout the story.

Naremore, James. Dashiell Hammett and the Poetics of Hard-Boiled Detection. Essays on Detective

Fiction, Edited by Bernard Benstock, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1983, pp. 4972, SiRS,

http://m.sirs.com/researcher/docview?docid=272005.

James Naremore; whose works are published in Essays on Detective Fiction which Bernard

Benstock, a University of Tulsa affiliate, edited; juxtaposes Hammetts crowning qualities with

his self-deprecating flaws. Beginning with Hammetts most profound works in the twenties and

swiftly switching to his Roaring-Twenties caused alcoholism, Naremore sympathetically explores

the life and legend of Dashiell Hammett by contrasting his personal strengths and flaws: detective

and movie writer, visionary and alcoholic.

Because Naremore provides a distinction between Hammetts pre- and post-Maltese Falcon life,

the novels protagonist Sam Spade becomes a tortured Doppelgnger of Hammett himself. Since

Naremore reveals Hammetts alcohol abuse as well as his previous occupation as a detective, the

reader realizes the origins and basises of the virtues and shortcomings of Samuel Spade.
 Santa 4

Reilly, John M. Dashiell Hammett: Overview. Edited by Jim Kamp, Reference Guide to

American Literature, St. James Press, 1994,

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=litrc&sw=w&u=sant95918&v=2.1&id=gale|h1420003711&it

=r&asid=4fe9360c4b2590e531751898762c01d4.

Reilly, an Edgar Award winner for Best Critical/Biographical, provides a painfully truthful

overview of Dashiell Hammett and his glorification of the detective. By providing Hammetts

pre-writing career as a private investigator, the article accounts for the verisimilitude of his

hard-boiled detective jargon; simultaneously, Reilly astutely explains the Hammetts experiences

are not reflected in his novels for real-life detectives occupy themselves with petty divorce or

employee theft.

Although the excessive, formal, literary vocabulary is occasionally pedantic, the article supplies a

pragmatic view of Hammetts exaggerated works which ultimately explains the detached

personality of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. Because Reilly knows Hammett comes from a

mundanely investigative background, because he knows Hammetts novels offer an inflated

perspective of noir, Reilly is able to capture the emotional void in which Hammett writes.

Symons, Julian. "The Maltese Falcon." Novels for Students, edited by Ira Mark Milne and Timothy

Sisler, vol. 21, Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=sant95918&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1420064892

&it=r&asid=bc87539eef94d170a9d85dc36dde4260. Accessed 3 Nov. 2016.

 Santa 5

Symons, a British crime novelist, assembles various interpretations of symbols in The Maltese

Falcon and unifies them into one overarching explanation--there is none. From the Falcons use

as a placeholder to the Flitcraft story as inconclusive, Symons shows Hammetts story to not be

symbolic, but literal in the most profound ways. For example, the use of the Maltese Falcon is

simply to provide historical integrity.

Although nearly incoherent at times due to a lack of economy, Symons, with his distinct

qualifications in Hammetts line of work, provides a realists observation of the novel.

Ultimately, because Symons brings in some ideas and disposes of others, his article unshrouds the

symbols of The Maltese Falcon by showing that they are objects and stories arbitrarily present in

reality.