Money was evidently the master of the characters in the Maltese. The author, Mr. Dashiell Hammett made all of the characters a slave to on object that can only be retrieved by the exchange of some external or extrinsic tender: money. Analyzing the novel from beginning to end, one unmitigated ideal is exposed and maintained; that is to earn a pay by whatever means possible. The ambience of 20th century America is also evident in this novel as the characters all possess correlating qualities. The main character, Mr. Samuel Spade consistently demonstrates the ideal of “where is my pay” throughout the novel. In chapter four, after Archer’s death, Ms. O’Shaughnessy was in the middle of her confession of who she really was, when Mr. Spade interrupted…show more content… In chapter nine, after the unannounced visit from Lieutenant Dundy and Sergeant Polhaus and the squabble between Joel Cairo and Ms. O’Shaughnessy at Mr. Spade’s house: Mr. Spade asked Ms. O’Shaughnessy to basically spill her guts and tell him everything in regards to the “black bird” and why everyone is so worked up about it. Ms. O’Shaughnessy then explained that she was hired to help attain the object from a Russian man who had it named Kemidov. She was to be paid five hundred pounds for her work; however, her partners Joel Cairo and Floyd Thursby were not trust worthy (Hammett…show more content… Gutman, he realized that it was fake. Recognizing that he failed in his quest for the falcon. Mr. Gutman intended to get back his money which he paid to Spade. Instead of returning the ten thousand dollars in full, he held back a thousand for himself (Hammett 203). This shows how much of a business Spade is and proves money to be a part of the reason why he intervened in finding the falcon. Eventually Spade came to the conclusion of why Ms. O’Shaughnessy wanted Thursby to be shadowed, so she could locate and kill him prior the arrival of the Falcon, thus she could have kept the profit all for herself(Hammett 209). She is a deceiving and cunning character with a hidden agenda that is mainly to deceive and get away with a much a she can with as little consequence. She was also motivated and driven by how much she can get financially from the