Graham Greene highlights the notions of good and evil through the characters and their choices. For example, when Harry says his first lines in the novel, he is revealed not as the loving boyfriend idealized by Anna or the perfect best friend described by Rollo, but as an uncontrollable insane man. Harry feels no guilt that the black market medication he was selling killed many people. When he is riding the Ferris Wheel with Rollo, he looks down and speaks as though he’s a god, as though other people are simply dots to him. (“If I said you can have twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stops, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money-without hesitation? Or would you calculate how many dots you can afford to spare?”) Harry is a real “product” of the war, an echo of the Nazi’s indifference to life. He believes that his desires are more important than the lives of others. He is a sort of “demon”. For example, on his first conversation with Rollo, he maintains a casual look as he opens the Ferris wheel’s door and tells his good friend that he has a gun and that he could eliminate him if he wanted to. Martins tells him that his problems would not end by getting rid of him, this changes completely Harry, who becomes charming and the menace in his voice is replaced by a good cheer and a friendly offer…He is good old Harry again even though he is tainted.
The setting of the story plays an extremely important role in intensifying the “good and bad” and the thriller themes. It takes place in Vienna, after WWII (just before the cold war) when the city was completely destroyed and divided into 4 zones, the American, the British, the French and the Russian zone. The atmosphere at that time was anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion. The majority of the actions take place at night, in the dark and shadowy streets of Vienna. The last scene of the book (final climax) takes place in Vienna’s sewers, at night. Harry is pursued by the police and Rollo accompanying them. Graham describes Harry’s face, who is not so confident anymore, he describes his eyes wide with fear as he tries to escape. His earlier smirk is replaced by a grimace of terror.
Graham also uses very advantageously literary techniques like suspense and cliffhangers. In chapter 11, Rollo goes to see Harry’s girlfriend, Anna Schmidt. He had just learned that Harry was involved in a racket, and he had got drunk to forget. He was walking back to his hotel in the dark and obscure streets when unexpectedly he saw a face in the dark. He recognized the features of the face, when suddenly a light lit up across the street, it was Harry Lime. (“the light fell straight across the narrow street and lit up the features of Harry Lime.”) This surprising end of the chapter creates a lot of suspense and a cliffhanger. The reader wants to know if it was just an illusion or if Harry is really alive.
Graham Greene was not only a novelist, he was also a short-story writer, a playwright, a film writer and a journalist. When he was a child, he got constantly bullied by his classmates. He suffered from mental and emotional problems, and he attempted suicide on several occasions. All of this influenced his writing style and the themes of his novels. He often wrote about betrayal, pursuit and death. In the book “the Third Man” the main theme is betrayal, because Rollo Martins discovers that he was betrayed by his best friend Harry Lime. He was able to depict internal struggles that his characters faced, as well as their external conflicts. His characters often faced harsh, miserable and tragic conditions.
Through this novella, Graham Greene paints an incredibly realistic picture of post war Vienna. The story really puts him/her in the context, he feels like he is right there in Vienna at the time. Through the intrigue, he presents with ease the conflict between the characters which show they can be both good and evil. He also uses other techniques to captivate the reader and intrigue him.
