“Uh-huh, I could’ve butchered Miles to get his wife, and then Thursby so I could hang miles killing on him. That’s a hell of a swell system, or will be when I can give somebody else the bump and hang Thursby’s on them. How long am I supposed to keep that up? Are you going to put your hand on my shoulder for all the killings in San Francisco from now on?”

When first reading this passage, I began to see the repetition with the words “butchered, hang, killing, hang”. These are all violent actions describing the killing being placed on Spade. It forces you to listen to what the writer is saying and draws your attention to those specific words. There is also a sense of mocking going on when he say’s “I did this or I did that”, it suggests that their conclusion has no evidentiary support and that they are all just claims of desperation to find the true killer. Spade speaks with sarcasm and anger to show that their accusations are not rational.

Spade is setting up a fake plot for the detectives to prove his innocence. Spade is showing them that their discovery is weak and does not make sense. The two detectives are lost and are turning to Spade for answers which he refuses to give them. In the process they put the blame on him to see what his reaction could be. There also could be a sense of fear in the statement, “Are you going to put your hand on my shoulder for all of the killings in San Francisco from now on?” Spade is angry and scared at the fact that they figured it out that he and Iva had a relationship.

Iva and Spades relationship connects to another part in the story where Iva and Spade are discussing their love affair and Spade seems to have no interest. Could he have feelings for her? Could he have hired someone to kill archer if he didn’t do it himself?  I think that this passage shows that Spade is just as desperate to find the killer as the others. He is trying to solve the case and Tom and Dundy are just roadblocks in the way of his detective work. Spade is bashing the system when he says, “That’s a hell of a swell system” in a way he is saying that it is not right or that it is unjust that he is being blamed when he is trying to help solve this case. What if Spade knew about the bird and in fact did commit the murders? Brigid O’Shaughnessy claims she is the only one who knows the spot but what if he figured it out and used Brigid to get the bird himself. He could become close to her and gain her trust and then she would lead him right to it. He then could pin the murder on someone else, but at the same time it would not make sense for both murders to be his wrong doings. He also seems to have taken a liking to her which would then intervene with this plan.

This passage could also be anger that he cannot prevent them from digging deeper into his life, without giving them something to work off of. Dundy and Tom won’t stop until they find the killer or killers. Spade knows this and wants to beat them to the answer. It would show that he can control the situation and by not letting them into his house in the first place, he is in control. This quote shows that Spade is taking offense to their words and is unhappy with this whole theory being pinned on him. This passage also is an example of spades true character, he is sarcastic, wont let anyone get in the way of his work, and he is someone who likes to prove he is a step ahead of everyone. Spade rubs this into Tom and Dundy’s face, when he is saying how their supposable conclusion to this murder is ridiculous. Spade is left in the dark for most of the story and is trying to figure out where the bird is, who is killing people and what he can do to find out more information.