Rules are made to be broken in Red Harvest. The proliferation of criminality in the novel means that there's a complete lack of order in the town of Personville. The gangsters do what they like, when they like, because they are in cahoots with the Chief of Police, who is as corrupt as they come. The criminals also know that there won't be any serious legal ramifications because the court system takes too long and because the police never find enough evidence to pin anything concrete on them. It's not until the Op arrives on the scene that the criminals are finally punished, but even he doesn't come off looking like the knight in shining armor saving the day. He has to break quite a few rules himself. But he claims that he has to twist or circumvent the law in order to uphold the law.
Questions About Rules and Order
- Is the Op justified in breaking the rules (both moral and legal) in order to carry out his mission to clean up Personville? Do the ends justify the means in this novel?
- How does Hammett portray the police force? In what ways do cops break the law when it suits their needs?
- Come up with a list of all the different moments when a law is broken. Are any of these moments morally excusable?
Chew on This
The Op is allowed to break the rules because his intentions are good. Duh.
Clearly, the Op is just as bad as the other criminals because he thinks he isn't morally responsible for any of the deaths even though he's the one who brought them about.