Reaction Paper 1

“Cairo’s face was darkened by a flush of annoyance. He put an ugly hand on wither arm of his chair, holding his small-boned body erect and stiff between them. His dark eyes were angry. He did not say anything” (Page 67)

As the mood switches and the power within the situation shifts from Cairo’s hands to Spade’s hands, Cairo’s visage drastically changes. From a once smooth and sultry, effeminate man, Cairo is turned into what seems to be an old, evil, angry, almost witch-like character. When Cairo had the power, he carried himself in a way that most would describe as over confident or cocky. Now that the power has been taken away from him, his face had been darkened, his hands were now weak and ugly, and his small body was stiff along the chair, just as would be the case for a witch.

Within this moment in the story, darkness is a repeated theme. Cairo’s face was dark, his eyes were dark, and in turn, his personality was dark. This shift towards darkness may mean that the story is now delving into the darkness that it may entail. Perhaps the dark pasts of the people of San Francisco are going to come forward, and perhaps people are no longer going to be willing to ask nicely to get what they want. Maybe Cairo is no longer going to beat around the bush with his demands and is now going to strive to get what he wants at any cost.

As the story progresses and the amount of drama builds up, the initial beauty wears away as the true colors of the people of San Francisco come into play. Sam no longer seems like the flawless ideal of a man, Brigid O’Shaughnessy no longer has the innocence that she once had, and Joel Cairo no longer has the power, the flash, or the confidence that he originally portrays. This, perhaps, could lead the story into the many twists, turns, and red herrings that most mysteries often have.