The story takes place in the time span of a single hour. How does Hammett achieve such suspense and speed of narration? What elements of storytelling does he leave out that another writer might have included?

What will be an ideal response?



  • Hammett has stripped the narrative of everything extraneous, focusing on action and dialogue and conveying any necessary information in the briefest and most direct manner possible. Where another writer might have provided an opening expository paragraph or two to set the scene, identify the narrator, and sketch in the background (whatever has previously taken place that led up to the moment at which the action begins), Hammett starts things off with “‘This is Mr. Chrostwaite,’ Vance Richmond said.” At first we have no idea where we are, who Vance Richmond is, or why he is introducing Chrostwaite—all bits of information that emerge soon enough in context as things proceed. Hammett avoids slowing things down with elements that we might expect to find in a work of this kind, such as detailed descriptions of settings and people, speculations about what is taking place, analogies from previous cases the Op has worked that might have a bearing on this one, and general observations about life and human nature arising from the actions of the characters. He gets us in and out of the story in what feels like record time—which further serves to underscore the implications of the title.

Language Arts & World Languages

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m. Traits (character traits): intéressant / intéressante

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Language Arts & World Languages

Select the sentence that is correctly punctuated.

A) “This dress is perfect, she said, but I still need to lose five pounds.” B) “This dress is perfect,” she said, “but I still need to lose five pounds.”

Language Arts & World Languages

Some of the following sentences contain misplaced or dangling modifiers. Others

lack parallel structure. Rewrite the incorrect sentences. If a sentence contains no structural errors, write C for correct in the left margin. Ray's thumb was cut while chopping vegetables for dinner. What will be an ideal response?

Language Arts & World Languages

Un semestre en Costa Rica: Si hubiera sabido…  En la última entrada de tu diario, escribes sobre qué cosas habrías hecho de manera diferente si hubieras sabido lo que sabes ahora. Completa los espacios en blanco con la forma apropiada de los verbos entre paréntesis en el condicional perfecto.Miércoles, 14 de diciembreEs la última semana y me estoy preparando para regresar a Estados Unidos. He tenido una experiencia excelente, pero hay algunas cosas que cambiaría si pudiera hacerlo. Si hubiera sabido lo que sé ahora…(Yo) 1. _________________________ (viajar) más. Es bastante fácil viajar a otros países cercanos, y quizás nunca vuelva a tener la oportunidad de hacerlo.Mis compañeros y yo 2. ______________________________ (preocuparse) menos por nuestras clases. Las notas

no figuran en los promedios (GPA) en nuestras universidades, y nosotros  3. ___________________________________ (divertirse) mucho más.(Yo) 4. ___________________________ (probar) más comidas. Tenía un poco de miedo de probar cosas diferentes y casi no probé nada hasta el final del semestre. ¡Resulta que me encanta la comida de Costa Rica!¡(Yo) 5. ___________________________ (estudiar) por un año en lugar de sólo un semestre! Estoy feliz de ver a mi familia y a mis amigos, pero me encantaría pasar todo un año aquí.(5) Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).

Language Arts & World Languages