Winding course of a Corkscrew, is used by Dashiell Hammett as the title of her

The authoritative sheriff is used as a contrast against the locals to show the corruption of the society in the town. The persona, written in 1st person, is the new sheriff in the town of Corkscrew. His occupation gives him a position of power, and he is seen to have many authoritative characteristics. He is placed at a higher status than the locals and Hammett shows this with the use of colloquial language of the locals and contrasts this against the persona. “A lanky man with enormous red ears” is used to represent the common people of society, and talks in a drunken dialect. “th’ time hash come for yuh t’ give up y’r evil ways an’ git out y’r knittin’.  Th’ law hash came to Orilla County!” The drunken man mocks the persona with his snide comments, this causes the persona to show more authority and so he “Their smallness let me carry them where they’d be close to my hands without advertising the fact that the gun under my shoulder wasn’t all my arsenal.”  The presence of the guns places the persona in a position of power over the rest of the population of the town. “The one woman in the room didn’t belong to Arizona. She was a thin girl of maybe twenty-five, with too-bright dark eyes, dark short hair, and a sharp prettiness that was the mark of a larger settlement than this.  You’ve seen her, or her sisters, in the larger cities, in the places that get going after the theaters let out.” The woman from this scene is significant as she is also used as a contrast against the country folk, when she is perceived as a city girl. Yet the town is corrupt, as she is ‘owned’ in a sense by “the man with her.” The people of the town restrict this hope of change.  The persona has come to restore order to the little town of Corkscrew where all rule and law has been broken, in a cycle represented with the connotation of the appearance of a corkscrew.

The setting of the small American town is important as it highlights the isolation of its location whilst exposing the remoteness and how this does embargos authority to function.  The town of Corkscrew is set amongst the “bitter white dust of the Arizona desert.” The desolate setting impedes many persons from visiting the town of Corkscrew. “Where in the hell is that register?” is what is said by the sallow man, this exemplifies the diminutive number of people visiting the town. The town restricts any form of an authority from operating as it hardly functions itself. “A town, it was called, but village would have been flattery: fifteen or eighteen shabby building slumped along the irregular street, with tumble-down shacks leaning against them, squatting close to them and trying to sneak away from them.” Hammett uses the setting of a desert for his town because it is constantly dusty, and suggests that the dust may be a metaphor for the corruption of the town. When the sheriff reaches the town he asks a fairly “sallow man” for “a room and a lot of water” however the mans reply is “but water wont do you no good. You won' no sooner drink and wash than you'll be thirsty and dirty all over again.” If the dust is the representation of corruption it would only make sense that the water the sheriff is asking for is to 'clean up' the corruption. The mans reply on certifies what a corrupt place this is as he basically tells the sheriff there is no point in saying around and trying to clean up the town as it will only get covered in “dust” too soon. Hammett describes this desert scene very stimulating, which helps the reader to feel more attached to the story. She not only gives countless visual descriptions, she also uses alliteration so that the reader is able to get a deeper sense of the setting. “Soft sifting sand”, the sound of the s’s stress the feeling of the sand sifting away, leaving a deeper impression on the reader. Also the phrase “cactus-spiked sage-studded” has almost been made physically difficult to read which creates a sense of unfamiliarity and almost discomfort within the reader, which reflects the personas feelings of this climate and environment. The era of setting, in 1925, would limit the town of many resources. Being desolate, the town would even be further behind in advances, thus limiting a change from occurring from a new visitor invoking authority and change.

The Corkscrew image is vital as it depicts the cycle of corruption in the town of Corkscrew. The short story format allows Hammett to introduce her plot, conflict and characters in the opening passage whilst hopefully captivating their attentions. From the opening passage Hammett introduces her main character of the sheriff, and other possible significant characters such as the “city woman” and “sallow man.”  The plot of the sheriff trying to invoke a change and authority into the town is initiated. The plot thickens as the conflict in introduced, when this change is proving difficult from the reaction of the town’s people. Other props such as the arsenal of the persona highlights danger, as weapons are needed, and captivates the reader. The setting heat and dust of the setting gives a sense of danger, and the reader anticipates the final outcome of the story. The writer’s purpose of writing to show the corruption of the town is complimented with the structure chosen for writing.