Dishonesty And Corruption In Red Harvest By Dashiell Hammett

In the novel Red Harvest, Dashiell Hammett depicts a town poisoned by crooked individuals, those of power and crime alike. The line between bent rules and crime becomes blurry as violence caused by corruption and abuse of power unfolds. The unnamed narrator, Continental op uncovers the private and unethical matters of the successful businessman, Elihu Wilsson, Chief of Police Noonan, and thug, Max (Whisper) Thaler. The tendency of these social leaders to act for their own interest through dishonesty and corruption, leads to not only the corruption of seemingly just institutions but also a series of violent crimes in Personville.
The Continental op illustrates Personville as an “ugly city of forty thousand people, set in an ugly notch between

After Elihu Wilsson murders Yakima Shorty, the intruder, Noonan congratulates him. The ease in which the murder was handled, no further investigation administered, displays an incomprehensive police force and leader with hidden motives. Throughout the novel, Noonan and his police force face the gangsters led by Max (whisper) Thaler. The lack of success on the part of the police force is a result of improper leadership. Furthermore, Chief Noonan’s interests seem to be sided with his benefit. The ethical approach in a pursuit of justice is not a chief interest for Noonan as an enforcer of the law. During the investigation of Donald Wilsson’s murder, the Chief and his team plot to hold Whisper accountable for Donald’s death regardless of an extraordinary lack of evidence. Further, Noonan, now a cohort of local thug Reno, seeks to pin a bank robbery on Thaler. Not only does the Chief of police disregard due justice, he instructs his team to murder Thaler, masking it under technicalities. A contributing factor is a cover up, committed by one of Noonans ex- officers, Macswain. As the person responsible for the death of Noonan’s younger brother, Macswain not only refrains from confessing but also accepts a bribe to omit the last words of the victim which incriminate Thaler. This unethical action leads to Noonan’s police brutality received by Macswain when he falsely accuses Thaler of the murder of the Chief’s brother. A series of violent actions follows including the murder of Max Thaler and the attempts by Noonan to kill the Continental Op. As a result of the rampant deceit on the part of Noonan and his police force, Poison Ville experiences a string of crime committed by leaders, citizens and thugs alike. It becomes clear that "just because a man's chief of police doesn't mean he's chief"