Graham Greene in the book The Third Man has evaluated the theme of guilty, crime, and irrationality of man
Introduction
Graham Greene in the book The Third Man has evaluated the theme of guilty, crime, and irrationality of man. The events which happen in Vienna, a city that is emerging from the post-war period help develop well the aspect of guilt and crime. Martins who is a pulp writer of westerns play has just arrived in Vienna a city that has been shattered by war and now divided into American, Russian, British and French zones (Gale 15). Crime is thriving in the city and poverty is taking the toll in other countries that have been in the war which explains why black markets such as the illegal trading of penicillin are taking place as well as the influx of the immigrants such as Rollo Martins and Anna Schmidt who have migrated to look for a better life elsewhere. The aspect of guilty and irrationality of man are also developed effectively in this narrative. Ideally, this paper aims to evaluate how the author has developed the theme of crime, guilt, and irrationality of man in his book The Third Man.
From the vivid descriptions of the book, one learns that Vienna is faced with material deprivations, disturbances of the public order and there are frequent confrontations between the foreigners and the Viennese. Refugees have been pouring in the Vienna from the Austrian countryside as well as from Czech and Yugoslavia. The author says “The refugees also “added dangerously to the irresponsible element in the city” (Greene 16). The city is experiencing shortfalls in medicine, fuel, food, and other necessities which explain why the black market rises. Suicide and tuberculosis are also on a high rise. Inflation has also skyrocketed and people are now hoarding goods. Overly, crime is the main element of this city. The black markets that have sprung up in the city are mainly conduits for selling merchandise by gangs, particularly from Eastern Europe. These gangs are mainly protected by the Soviets. This is supported by the fact that Lime who is involved in such business hides in the Russian Zone.
Rollo Martins has been promised a job by Lime who happens to have died later when Rollo Martins arrives in Vienna. The circumstances of his death are strange but later it becomes apparent that this was an attempt to cover up his crime and involvement in the black market for highly watered down penicillin (Sinowitz 405). Lime is guilty of having committed crime unimaginable in the society as the illegal penicillin being traded threatens not only the lives of children but also the lives of the society. It shows an irrational man bereft of humanity who is ready to ruin the lives of others at the expense of money. More so, as the story develops, it becomes clear that certain characters such as Anna Schmidt. Lime’s girlfriend is guilty of being in Australia illegally and fears that the investigation underway would expose her immigration status perhaps prompting her to be deported back to Czech, her country.
In the book, the major component of an investigation by Martins stems from the night when he gets drunk and then heads to Anna Schmidt’s house because she is lonesome and it is the only woman that Martins knows in the city. He is disappointed that Anna Schmidt still holds love for Lime a man who died a long time ago and sees this aspect as irrational and dehumanizing. However, Martins later fall in love with Anna who does not have much personality in the book (Sinowitz 405). She has a great love for Lime and supports the investigations being carried by Martins but not to an extent where her tenuous immigration status is threatened. The major twist of Lime’s death is that he did not die from a car accident but he had just faked his death to avoid being persecuted for stealing as well as selling watered-down penicillin that had resulted to countless deaths. Essentially, Lime is guilty of having entrenched crime in a society and having bypassed the notion of humanity in society at the expense of accumulating wealth.
When Lime has been revealed to be alive, the question that now drives the story shifts from who may have killed him to whether his sins are so great that they can break the loyalty from Martin to him. Lime seems certainly not feeling guilty about the deaths that he may have caused but he understands well that he is in an illegal business that attracts persecution (Reshetova 405). Anna Schmidt is hopelessly in love with Lime since he provided her with a fake Austrian passport. This also points to another aspect of criminality in Lime. Faking of the passport to have another nationality in Austria effectively shows how crime in Vienna like other cities can thrive. With a fake passport, Anna Schmidt can escape repatriation. It is Lime’s evil and crookedness that saved her from the Soviets and she says she can never forget it. She says “I don’t know anything anymore, except I want to be dead, too.” (Greene 16). This aspect of evil and crookedness is also represented by Vienna. The city is a representation of a closed city and mimics a city whose structures have been despaired and moral sense knocked sideways.
The narration in the story, the investigations, and several characters in the book The Third Man helps explore the aspect of sin in the society, the guilt of men, crime, and irrational behavior of men in society. The wretchedness of the sinner is seen in Lime who accepts his destiny as one of the damned running through tunnels of Vienna sewers in a bid to save his life. The betrayal of his friend Martins also shows another picture of the irrational behavior of man where one is ready to forgo loyalty at the expense of self-interest (Greene 16). The importance of luck, evil, crime, and immoral ways of getting rich speaks of a society that is built on a frail foundation. Lime may have been successful without resorting to racketeering but due to his greed, he chooses the shortcut by selling diluted penicillin that ends up causing damage to the brain. On the other hand, Anna Schmidt holds onto irrational thinking that her happiness can only be found in Lime while this may not be the case.
Conclusion
Graham Greene has been able to develop the theme of crime, guilt, and irrationality of man that describes man’s illogical behavior as that represented by Lime who continues to sell dangerous penicillin knowing well the effects it has on the lives of children and other members of the society. There is also the aspect of guilt as felt by Anna Schmidt who knows that she is living illegally in a foreign country having received a forged passport from Lime. More so the aspect of crime is represented through black markets, Lime’s involvement in stolen penicillin, and continued occupation of imperial powers some such as Russian allowing the black markets to thrive at their watch.
Work cited
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Graham Greene’s” The Third Man”. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015.
Greene, Graham. The third man and The fallen idol. Random House, 2010.
Reshetova, Valentina. “History and Ambiguity: Graham Greene’s The Third Man and The Quiet American in Print and on Screen.” (2003).
Rabinowitz, Michael. “Graham Greene’s and Carol Reed’s The Third Man: When a Cowboy Comes to Vienna.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 53.3 (2007): 405-433.