Once
again we see the theme of innocence and experience in The Third Man. However, Greene presents it in a strange and
brilliant way. We are used to seeing a child display innocence while adults
shatter their world with experience and reality. Yet, in parts VIII through X,
we discover the great innocence Rollo Martins possesses in his view of Harry
Lime. His admiration echoes Phile’s admiration for Baines in The Fallen Idol.
Throughout
the ten parts we have read, Martins acts almost like a character in one of his
“cheap novelettes.” He is an English cowboy that will go to the ends of the
earth to defend his friend, even by vigilante means. Greene illustrates the
mixed identity theme through his polar nature, even distinguishing his attitude
by either Martins’ first or last names. He has the “superiority of the amateur”
that allows him to dig deeper than the professional detectives and find out the
truth about Harry (336). Martins makes “an enormous impression” through his
passion and bravado (348). He drinks a lot, he “fall[s] in love” with his best
friend’s girl (340), and he has his fair share of one-liners worthy of Western
heroes: “The dead are made to be forgotten (341); What was Shakespeare (347)?”
People even mistake him for the police. It is hard to imagine Martins in any
other way. However, the experience and daring he demonstrates hides the
underlying innocence of his friendship with Lime.
One
of the most unusual scenes occurs when Martins flees from the British police. He
hides in a dark, unknown room. A “curious moaning sound” starts to bother him
(350). Eventually he “[can] stand no more” of the grating sound, and he
desperately tries to light the room with his lighter (350). This desperation
suggests “fear,” more so of “the darkness” than of being found by the police
(350). Fear of the darkness, as we saw with Francis in “The End of the Party,” is
irrational to experienced adults, especially one so daring as Martins. Martins
reactions to the sound and darkness even echo Francis’ childish and innocent
panic. After finally sitting down with Calloway, reality and truth strike Martins
where it hurts the most – his love for Harry Lime. He constantly expresses his
love and respect for Harry; the phrase “Harry’s friend” is a title and a badge
of honor for him (337). He likes Cooler because he is “ the only one of
[Harry’s] friends who stood up for Harry” (341). When Calloway reveals the note
to Martins, “a world for [him] certainly [comes] to an end”; it is the “world
of easy friendship, hero-worship, confidence that had begun twenty years
earlier – in a school corridor” and had stayed there (355). Martins still
possesses that same innocent admiration for Lime. He cannot comprehend that his
friend would ever be involved in a dirty, criminal racket. His innocent
idolization would not allow for it. However, now that the truth has shattered
his reality, how do you see the destruction of his innocence affecting his
further investigation?
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