British author Graham Greene (1904-1991) spent much of his career writing about the standard of ethical behavior in contemporary politics. He considered himself a socialist and humanist. He rejected the principles of capitalism prevalent in the United States.
The Third Man was never intended to be a novel. Instead, Greene wrote it as a screenplay of his movie of the same title. He later published it as a novella.
The plot of the book unfolds as Harry Lime invites protagonist Rollo Martins to Vienna. Martins takes up his friend’s offer. When Martins arrives in Vienna, he learns that Lime died in an automobile accident. After arrival, Martins learns about a prior criminal investigation of his friend, who is described as “the worst racketeer who ever made a dirty living in this city.” After this revelation, he visits Lime’s girlfriend Anna. When he talks to a porter, he discovers conflicting accounts of the accident. He becomes suspicious and decides to launch an investigation of his own. Through the investigation, he hopes to clear Lime’s name. Before he can arrange an interview with the porter, the man is killed.
Martins learns from the police that Lime sells stolen penicillin on the black market. He later realizes Lime is alive when he sees him in the shadows. The police conclude that Lime escaped through the sewers of Vienna. They exhume his coffin, and confirm that he is alive. The police find Lime, eventually shooting and killing him. At his funeral, Anna walks away from his grave. Martins catches up with her. They walk away together, presumably to begin a new life:
He caught up with her and they walked side by side. I don’t think he said a word to her: it was like the end of a story except . . . her hand was through his arm – which is how a story usually begins.
The Third Man contains numerous literary devices to advance the plot. One such device is foreshadowing. Greene hints to events that will take place as the story unfolds. For example, at the beginning of the work, the protagonist believes his friend is morally upright. His admiration for Lime draws him into the drama. However, the reader knows there is more to Lime’s character because of the criminal investigation, conflicting versions of the auto accident, and the porter’s death.
The author’s negative view of capitalism permeates this story. Everything wrong, in Greene’s view, stems from the immoral greed for money that capitalism fosters. If Lime did not become greedy, he would not have fallen from his morality and would not have died.
The concept of friendship is significant in this work, as shown by the quote: “A true friendship necessitates love, confidence, and loyalty.” Martins’s admiration for Lime comes across to the reader as a deep love, which is almost to the point of hero worship. Martins’s confidence in Lime compels him to travel to Vienna. It is clear that Martins remains loyal to Lime, even when other characters verify his doubts about Lime’s character.
In this novella, mood plays a significant role. The dark setting in back streets and sewers of Vienna reflect the bleak details of the story. The atmosphere Greene creates develops the dark mood of the book. The tone of the work is the author’s attitude or perspective. Greene uses the dark, negative tone to express his personal feelings about the capitalist system. He sees it as the underlying cause of human downfall.
It is interesting to compare the ending of Greene’s novella with the ending of the 1949 movie version of the story. In the video production, Anna walks away from Lime’s grave and leaves Martins behind, which suggests a grim future. In the novella, Anna and Martins walk away from the grave arm-in-arm. The novella’s ending implies that the author foresees a brighter future for the two in a non-capitalist society. They are free of Lime’s greed.
I believe that "The Third Man" was not originally written as a novel but as an extended treatment and then a script for the excllent movie "The Third Man," starring Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard and directed by the great British director Carol Reed. Greene originally wanted the hero to be English, but the American backers of the film demanded an American star, which necessitated changing the story slightly to make the hero a writer of pulp westerns. The movie was released in 1949. It is a classic. It is frequently listed as one of the best movies of all time. You should certainly watch it if you haven't seen it. It is readily available on DVD. Grahan Greene probably published a version of the story in book form after the movie. These books are generally called novelizations. It is common to make novels into movies, but not so common to make movies into novels.
Joseph Cotton plays Holly Martin, an American pulp fiction writer who goes to Vienna right after World War II to join his friend Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles. It appears that Harry Lime has just been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Holly suspects foul play and decides to investigate. The British Major Calloway tries to prevent Holly from interfering in police matters, but Holly persists at the risk of his life. In the meantime he falls in love with Harry Lime's ex-girlfriend, who believes Harry is dead.
If you start by reading up on the movie, you can get all the information you want about plot, characters, theme, etc. You can refer to reviews on microfilm in the New York Times and Weekly Variety. But the easiest first step would be just to get a DVD from your public library or Netflix or a video rental store and enjoy the great movie. You could also read about it in biographies of Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton at your college library.
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