Tired of ads?
Join today and never see them again.
Advertisement - Guide continues below
Principles
Our protagonist Sam Spade is a cynical detective who struggles to maintain his integrity within a corrupt society. He lives in a society where crime is so pervasive that he can't leave the house without carrying a loaded gun. Spade lacks reliable moral guidance since traditional social institutions like the police department or the justice system are themselves corrupt. So Spade has to rely on his own set of principles to carry out his job. The sticky part here is that Spade isn't afraid to bend the rules, even his own rules. We'd like to think that Spade is always an upright, honest guy, but turns out that his motives aren't always clear and The Maltese Falcon ends on a morally ambiguous note.
Spade sacrifices his love for Brigid in order to bring justice to his partner's murder.
Spade turns Brigid over to the police in order to save his own neck and keep the police off his back.
Join today and never see them again.
Please Wait...