How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Try telling the facts," Dundy suggested.
"The facts?" Cairo's eye fidgeted, though their gaze did not actually leave the Lieutenant's. "What assurance have I that the facts will be believed?"
"Quit stalling." (8.45)
In a novel so full of lies, how do we sort out the true facts? Cairo senses that even if he were to tell the truth, it wouldn't be believed. What does this say about the sorry state of society if the so-called saying that "the truth shall set you free" no longer holds true? Is this why Brigid also tells so many lies, in an effort to protect herself when the truth won't?
Quote #5
Dundy said: "Horse feathers."
Spade said: "That's all right, Dundy, believe it or not. The point is that that's our story and we'll stick to it. The newspapers will print it whether they believe it or not, and it'll be just as funny one way as the other, or more so. What are you going to do about it? It's no crime to kid a copper, is it? You haven't got anything on anybody here. Everything we told you was part of the joke. What are you going to do about it?" (8.65)
Spade continues to play the role of the pesky private detective causing trouble for the police. He fibs that he'll go to the newspapers to print the story, which will only lead to embarrassment for the police department. What's interesting about Spade's speech is that he sees the newspapers as a corrupt organization. Newspapers no longer care about printing the real facts. They will print whatever sells, whether they believe it's true or not. Hammett isn't exactly portraying a rosy picture of society in the thirties.
Quote #6
Her eyelids drooped. "Oh, I'm so tired," she said tremulously, "so tired of it all, of myself, of lying and thinking up lies, and of not knowing what is a lie and what is the truth." (9.96)
Brigid is the girl who cried wolf one too many times. Here, Spade wants to believe her that she's tired of lying, but he can't even tell if she's being honest about not wanting to lie. Talk about a catch-22. Brigid's inability to distinguish between a lie and the truth emphasizes just how murky the waters have become.