Hammett starts his work with an unbearable, solitary, and unconventional trip to Corkscrew, illustrating the narrator’s symbolic setting. The excerpt starts with complaints from the narrator that he was “boiling like a coffeepot,” in the “white dust of the Arizona desert.” The usage of the simile “boiling like a coffeepot” transmits the unbearable condition of the day; metaphorically presenting the image of the narrator burning in flames, distinctive of a journey to hell. Afterwards, the narrator pronounces his solitary journey when he utters that “[he] was the only passenger,” in the bus to Corkscrew. Considering the usual depiction of hell, as a place people must confront alone, the quote underlines the speaker’s supreme solitude during his tormenting descent. Simultaneously, the speaker describes the disruption of silence due to the fact, “the driver cursed the necessity of stopping to feed his clattering machine more water.” Through the citation, the author presents an allusion to Charon, bearing in mind, that Greek mythology describes the way as an extensive meander with an agonizing silence; adjoining to the suggestion, of the speaker’s incapability of escaping from odyssey. Furthermore, the diction “feed” personifies the vehicle; implying human weaknesses, like hunger, are what drive people into hell since that forced them to stop and take longer on their way. Accordingly, the narrator realizes the ultimate destiny of his journey as he approaches it.
The narrator’s passage through hell’s gates ends up giving him a mournful tone as he approaches the city, and ends up rationalizing his trip to hell through his characterization. Sweltering, agonizing, and secluded, the narrator steadily continues his journey to Corkscrew as he aspires to “bang out of existence in one explosive flash.” Nevertheless, “[he] didn’t care if,” he died. The hyperbolic aspect of his intended death stresses the man’s desperation and regret, transmitting the appalling tone, in order to avoid his known destiny. Positing his characterization as a pessimistic, despondent, and afflicted man. The depiction accentuates what aspects oblige a person to endure the austere conditions of that day; and eventually go to the ghoulish Corkscrew. Suddenly the speaker “topped a sharp ridge and slid down into Corkscrew.” The succinct visual imagery presents the narrator’s passage through the devilish portal. Considering that the diction “slid down” suggests the narrator’s fall into abyss. Hammett utilizes a concise paragraph, signifying the gate’s thinness. Allowing the reader to intuit the character’s promenade through the entrance. Marking the shift from the scalding heat on the road, to the blistering heat in Corkscrew. Thus, once the speaker has gone through he realizes that “Corkscrew wouldn’t have been impressive at any time.” The haughty tone, confirms the protagonist’s suspicion about Corkscrew, a city of heinous morals.
