“She lifted her cup to her lips again. Spade, not moving the domineering stare of his yellow-grey eyes from her face, began to make a cigarette.”(87)
As the quest to obtain the Maltese Falcon continues on, Sam Spade develops and evolves into a whole new class of masculinity. Spade always came off as manly with his “V” shaped face and body and his suave personality, but now, he has turned into a whole new beast, literally. The domineering stare of his eyes, yellow, just like those of a falcon, show that he isn’t playing around anymore. Spade is getting down to business in the most efficient way possible at any cost.
This trend of yellow eyes continues as Spade and Brigid O’Shaughnessy are getting intimate. Yet again, Spade is taking control of the situation and, at any cost, getting what he wants. As his eyes begin to “burn yellowly”, it is clear that he has the power, and he is dominant, just like a falcon is (89). Spade has taken a new approach to getting this job done and as the people around him change and develop, he manages to as well.
A falcon is a predator of the sky. As it flies high above the ground it uses its yellow eyes to seek out and attack its prey. Sam Spade is a falcon. As he enters the lobby of the hotel in search of Cairo, he spots instead the boy who had been tailing him. At this point, “points of yellow light begin to dance in his eyes” (93). Spade has found his prey. Without hesitation, he approaches the boy and makes his intentions clear; he is not messing around.
As the novel heats up and the characters of San Francisco develop and change, often for the worst, Sam Spade’s inner falcon comes out in order for him to complete the task at hand at whatever the cost.