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Home Middelbare School EN Uittreksels Uittreksel Graham Greene - The Third Man

Uittreksel Graham Greene - The Third Man

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Extracts English Literature
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Graham Greene - The Third Man

Heineman Ltd./Octopus Books Ltd., London (1950)

Title:

Three men were present when Harry Lime was killed. At the inquest only two of the men, Cooler and Kurtz gave evidence, so Martins, the main character in this book, wonders who the third man could have been.

Author:

Graham Greene (1904) is one of the most popular English writers of our century. He studied at Oxford University and entered journalism. He travelled a great deal through Europe, Africa and America, and wrote about thirty novels. The success of his books enabled him to give up from journalism and devote himself to literature. In his earlier works the characters are based on his own experiences as a child. Greene produced short stories, critical essays, travel books and plays. The Power and the Glory is probably one of his best novels.

The literary period:

The Twentieth century - first part.

The genre:

The Third Man

Summary:

Rollo Martins, a writer of Westerns, is on his way to Vienna. He has been invited there by his old friend Harry Lime. World War II has ended and the city is governed by the four allies: America, Great Britain, the USSR and France. There is a lot of smuggling going on. In the years after the war penicillin is in great demand. During his jourmeny Martins' plane has to land in Frankfurt. A man is searching for a Mr Dexter. Martins thinks he might be this Dexter because he wrote a cheap Western novel under the name Buck Dexter.

When he arrives in Vienna it appears that his old school friend has had an accident, having been run over by a car . Martins goes to the funeral, watching from a distance. Colonel Calloway (British security police) is interested in this new friend of Harry Lime. The colonel tells Martins that Harry was involved in various smuggling activities. He does not believe this and tries to attack Calloway. He wants to investigate Harry's death. Martin is wrongly identified as another writer named Dexter. At Sacher's place a room has been reserved for someone called Dexter. Martin says he is Dexter and takes the room. Someone seems to be paying his bills and this saves Martin a lot of money. A man called Kurtz tells Martins that Harry knew a girl named Anna. He also tells Martin that Harry crossed the street to talk to an American called Cooler, which is when he was hit by a Jeep. He died instantly. Kurtz he doesn't know anything about any criminal activities. He decides to visit Anna. She tells him about Larry's death and about his friend Cooler. Martins goes to see Lime's doctor, Dr.Winkler. The man explains that he wasn't present at the Harry's death, so he doesn't have any more information.. Herr Koch, Harry's neighbour, says that Harry was already dead when he was brought into the house. Three men carried him in: Cooler, Kurtz and the third man. When Martins can't find any papers in Harry's apartment he becomes convinced that Harry was murdered.

 

Martin visits Cooler. He tells him that Anna is a Hungarian, who is afraid of the Russians. Harry obtained British papers for her, so she could live in the British zone. Then Martin goes to see Anna. He falls in love with her. Both come to the conclusion that Kurtz and Cooler lied . They decide to go to Harry's apartment search for more information about Harry's death. When they arrive, they find a large crowd standing at the front of the house. Koch seems to have been killed and the police are looking for the foreigner who visited Koch the day before. Martins is picked up by a driver. He thinks he is being arrested but he is being taken to visit the British Council discussion evening. He has to sign autographs because everyone thinks he is the famous writer Benjamin Dexter. At the end of the evening he is arrested after all. They take him to see Calloway. He tells him about of Harry's penicillin scam People had been died or gone insane after using bad medicine. Martins becomes upset and starts drinking. He realises his friend wasn't worth his great admiration. Suddenly he spots a dark figure which seems familiar. It's Harry Lime himself. But he gets away near an advertising kiosk.

He tells Calloway what he has seen. The Colonel shows him the ladder in the kiosk that leads to the sewers. He wants Martins to go to the Russian zone to talk to Lime. They meet each other at the old amusement park. It becomes clear to Martins that his old friend is only out to make money. He doesn't care about what he has done to all those people, and even invites Martins to join the racket. Martins promises Calloway to help him to get Lime arrested, and makes a appointment with Lime. He leaves a message that he needs help because he is wanted by the police. When Lime enters the Café where they have arranged to meet, he sees Martins making a phone call. He realises it is a trap. He runs back into the sewer. Together with a policeman called Bates, Martins goes after him. Bates gets shot. Then the sewer police arrive. Lime escapes and Martins shoots him and wounds him badly. He is in great pain, eventually Martins shoots him on the ladder leading out of the sewer and kills him.

Time:

It is hard to estimate how long the actual story takes, as Greene doesn't indicate time at all.

Setting:

The story takes place in Vienna after World War 2. The city is divided into different zones: Russian, American, French and British.

Characters and relationships:

Rollo Martins:

A writer of Westerns. He is a man of Dutch origin, who trusts his old friend Harry Lime completely. He thinks the stories about Lime being a criminal are lies. But when he discovers truth he changes his opinion completely. The only thing he wants to do is to punish his old friend

Calloway:

He is a British police officer and narrator of this story

Harry Lime:

We don't see much of him in the story, but this book revolves around him. He was Martins' friend since their youth and he lives in Vienna. He is involved in a big smuggling racket. The penicillin he smuggles is very bad for the users. But he doesn't care about that at all.

Anna Schmidt:

A girl of Hungarian origin. She is an actress and Harry's girlfriend. He helped her obtain British papers so she does not have to go to the Russian zone.

Crabbin:

An official for the British council. He mistakes Martins for a well-known writer called Benjamin Dexter. That's why he pays all the bills for Martins

Kurtz, Cooler and Dr. Winkler

They are friends of Harry and members of the penicillin racket.

Koch:

He is Harry's neighbour. He doesn't want to have anything to do with Harry or his death. He afraid something bad might happen to him.

Credibility:

….

Theme:

Greene has written many stories like this, where the goal was pure entertainment. The novel has no deeper meaning than the story itself, and in this sense cannot be said to have a theme.

Motto:

None.

Linguistic usage:

The book contains many dialogues and details. These detailed descriptive passages can make it difficult to read.

Dedication:

None.

Perspective:

The events are seen through Calloway's eyes, he is the narrator.

Construction:

The book contains 17 chapters, written chronologically.

Own opinion on the book:

Your opinion!

:
is a detective story.

 

Success is more attitude than aptitude.

Succes is meer houding dan geschikt zijn.

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