The Maltese Falcon is essentially a novel about people making up stories. The characters in the novel show a remarkable ability and willingness to lie. As each new character is introduced into the plot, a new set of lies is also introduced. The novel is also characterized by an objective style. Dashiell Hammett maintains a third-person point of view that provides no insights into the characters' thoughts or motivations. This interplay between a plot centered on lies and an objective style centered on the lack of understanding of these lies builds narrative desire in The Maltese Falcon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayNarrative desire is the paradoxical desire of the reader to arrive at the resolution of a story and at the same time want to prolong the suspense of the story for a while as long as possible. At the beginning of The Maltese Falcon, Hammett centers his plot firmly on lies. Hammett introduces the reader to Sam Spade and Ms. Wonderly. Both initially appear as stereotypical characters in a detective novel: Spade as a compassionate private investigator who patiently listens to his client's story and Ms. Wonderly as an uncertain, passive woman in trouble who needs a man to save her. However, Hammett immediately reverses this characterization. Within two chapters, everything the reader thought they knew turns out to be a lie. Ms. Wonderly is in fact Brigid O'Shaughnessy, her story is a complete invention, and Spade is a bitter, sardonic man who “never believed her story” (33). As each lie is debunked, the reader naturally assumes that progress toward the truth is occurring. Hammett therefore initially plays with his reader's desire to arrive at the resolution of the story. What replaces these lies, however, is just that: more lies. Brigid continues her "schoolgirl ways... stammering and blushing and all" (55). But Spade soon realizes that she is still deceiving him. “You're not exactly the kind of person you pretend to be, are you?” he asks (55). This interaction between Spade and Brigid continues throughout the rest of the novel. Brigid continues to tell lies and do her part while Spade continues to ask questions and maintain his skepticism. The progression towards the truth that seemed simple at the beginning of the novel turns out to be an illusion: debunking a lie does not necessarily mean that the truth will take its place. Complicating the web of deception is the fact that the reader cannot know for sure when the characters are telling the truth and when they are not. Hammett's use of an objective style makes this impossible. The objective style is characterized by a third-person point of view that provides no insight into the characters' thoughts or motivations. He lacks omniscience. By keeping readers in the dark about what characters think, Hammett builds a world in which lies carry as much weight in the reader's eyes as facts. This power placed in lies is reflected in the characters; everyone in the novel seems to have an easier time lying than telling the truth. When the police ask him why he would lie if he had nothing to hide, Spade mutters, "Everyone has something to hide" (145). Later, when Brigid is finally forced to tell Spade the truth, she stammers, “I…can't look you in the eye when I tell you this,” “this” being the truth (210). The reader's inability to know when a character is telling a lie, combined with the frequency of the characters' lies, fosters the illusion that readers are getting closer to the truth. As each lieis proven wrong, Hammett simultaneously captures the reader's desire to move towards a resolution by prolonging the suspense by introducing a new series of lies to debunk. The objective style also prolongs the suspense by delaying the action. In addition to keeping readers in the dark about the characters' thoughts and motivations, Hammett's style slows the pace of the story's progression through the use of short, declarative sentences. The Maltese Falcon is a frustratingly slow novel at times. After Spade discovers that his partner is dead, Hammett painstakingly describes Spade's "thick fingers [making] a cigarette with delicate care" (11). When the Maltese falcon is finally discovered, Hammett slows the action again, describing Spade's process of unwrapping the bird, from “[cutting] the string to pieces” to slowly “[pulling] aside the brown paper” (158 ). The audience can see how much the action is slowed down when Spade quickly recounts the events to other characters. For example, the story that Brigid takes pages to tell – her false explanation of why she wants Spade to help her – is summarized by Spade for her partner in a few sentences. Spade also quickly tells Effie what happened to him in Gutman's office, taking only a paragraph to describe the "action" value of a chapter. By slowing the progression of the story, Hammett paradoxically increases the excitement. The suspense is prolonged as Hammett steadfastly refuses to speed up the development of the plot and arrive at a resolution quickly. Although the narrative style of the novel delays the truth, the plot seems to progress towards it. This progression towards the truth is the result of Spade's ruthless search for a solution. Although Spade lies as frequently as any other character in the novel, he uses these lies to get to the truth. Spade lies to Gutman about his knowledge of the Maltese Falcon's location, but learns valuable information about the Falcon's history. He often lies to Cairo and Brigid about whose interests he is protecting; we eventually learn that he isn't actually caring for either of them. His biggest lie comes in his “goat” speech. Here he tricks Cairo, Gutman, and Brigid into thinking that he has no interest in the truth and just wants to pin the murders in The Maltese Falcon on someone convenient. “Let's nail down the details,” he says (189). Here we see Spade constructing lies before the reader's eyes. In short, it would appear that Spade has no interest in the truth after all. For a moment, it seems that the solution to The Maltese Falcon is strangely devoid of truth. However, narrative desire is much more than just the reader's desire to prolong the suspense while still leading towards a resolution; it is the reader's desire for truth in the solution. After Spade convinces Cairo, Gutman, and Brigid to believe that he has no interest in the truth, he demands the truth from them. Spade is done listening to lies. In the final chapters he calls out every character. “This is a lie,” he tells Brigid twice (207, 209). Here we see Spade representing the reader's narrative desire. Although Hammett prolonged the suspense throughout much of the novel, in the final chapters we see Spade's constant search for a satisfactory resolution. After being left in the dark about Spade's thoughts for most of the novel, we finally get some insight into his motivations as he interrogates Brigid. “When a man's partner is killed, he should do something about it,” he tells her (213). Although Spade initially appears to be a sleazy detective who follows his own rules, he turns out to be a truly moral individual. “Don't be so sure I'm as dishonest as I ought to be,” he says (215). Obtaining a first clear vision of the motivations of.