Stylistic Innovations in The Maltese Falcon

Stylistic Innovations In The Maltese Falcon The author of “The Maltese Falcon” uses stylistic innovations such as slang and excruciating detail regarding characters and scenery. These are beneficial to the story, because they add to the atmosphere of the story, and aid in the visualization. An example of the detail used is found on page 54, lines 20-28: The eagerness with which Brigid O’Shaughnessy welcomed Spade suggested that she had been not entirely sure of …showed first 75 words of 827 total…

…showed last 75 words of 827 total…through the book would realize that it was in someone’s personal wastebasket, rather than a random public one. The quote above also gives some indication of what Spade’s intent is. Hammett used these three stylistic innovations seamlessly together to make this book incredibly immersive and entertaining to read – merging the slang with the incredible detail and choppy, fragmented narrative to give the imaginative reader the experience of almost being there as they read.