The Quiet American, By Graham Greene - 1430 Words

Innocence is blindness. To be innocent is to be unaware of principal parts of a situation. When someone is innocent to a problematic situation or crisis, they do not have enough knowledge to form an opinion that could help find a solution. As a result, that person becomes problematic if they attempt to find a solution. People are always biased to the knowledge they have, whether it is true or false, a lot or a little. When innocent people look to solve a problem, they are biased to their innocence, which often causes more harm than good. In The Quiet American, by Graham Greene, Alden Pyle is an innocent, and therefore problematic, character. The novel is set in 1950s Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Pyle is representative of the American forces in the war as his primary goal is to stop communism, and he surmises that he knows the best way to do it. Because of this, he is an example of American exceptionalism, believing that he is most apt to solve the crisis in Vietnam, when in realit y he does not have enough knowledge of the situation at hand, causing more damage than repair. Pyle believes that the American way (his way) is the most effective way. He believes that it is America’s civic duty to assist the Vietnamese and succeed in ridding the nation of communist ideas. He is largely influenced by the ideas of a scholar named York Harding, who pushes for the idea of an uncorrupt â€Å"Third Force† to save Vietnam. Although neither Harding nor Pyle fully understand the conflictShow MoreRelatedThe Quiet American by Graham Greene1629 Words   |  7 PagesGraham Greenes novel, The Quiet American, is more than a political statement about whether or not America or any other country for that matter should become involved in the affairs of another country; Greene makes the question human and personal. The novel can be read as a political and moral reflection on the opening stages of the United States’ involvement in Southeast Asia. Therefore, Greene ’s novel becomes a commentary on the pointlessness of the United States’ later investment of men and materialRead MoreThe Quiet American By Graham Greene1272 Words   |  6 Pages The Quiet American was a book originally written in 1955 by Graham Greene, inspired by the first French Indochina war in Vietnam placed during 1951 - 1954. The author adds a love triangle in the mist of war’s chaos to deepen the reader’s interest. His decision to create a fictional love story during a turbulent time in our history proved to be successful, even though, Greene insists, This is a story and not a piece of history. Bushnell reflects Greene’s comment adding, Unfortunately, The QuietRead MoreEssay on The Quiet American by Graham Greene1400 Words   |  6 PagesThe Quiet American is written by Graham Greene. This novel is about the conflict between Alden Pyle and Thomas Fowler. The novel’s events have already taken place and Fowler is the narrator of t he story. Thomas Fowler, a man in his fifties, is a British journalist who has been covering the events taking place in the French War in Vietnam for over two years. He chooses to remain neutral between the sides of the battles he covers. He meets Alden Pyle, a young American who is well educated and secretlyRead MoreConflicts Involve a Clash of Ideas, Interests and Expectations.808 Words   |  4 Pagesmuch as life. Graham Greene proves this notion in his allegoric novel The Quiet American, as he draws upon political ideologies and represents these through the characters in the novel. Greene places the characters within the context of Indochina War, and presents relationships of the characters symbolically to represent the circumstances of the war. Alden Pyle’s idealism is motivated by interventionism in a Third World country’s affairs; this is a emblematic representation of what Greene himself hadRead MoreAn Interpretation of Graham Greenes The Quiet American1373 Wo rds   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Judging Pyle One of the central themes in Graham Greenes novel, The Quiet American, which functions more as the thesis of this work of literature, is loss of innocence. Most critics and readers of this book generally conclude that the loss of innocence is exemplified through the gradual debauchery of Alden Pyle, the American who comes to live in Vietnam with little first-hand experience or knowledge about the political situation or the people there. One of the principle problems with this commonlyRead MoreThe Quiet American - Taking Sides Is Human789 Words   |  4 PagesThe Quiet American, by Graham Greene, implements a number of techniques to persuade the reader to believe that taking sides is human. This is done mainly through character development, events, narrative and setting. Using these techniques, Graham Greene is able to successfully create invited readings which support his views. Important to this process, character development is the center of this novel, and a powerful force behind the beliefs and invited readings presented by the text. Using charactersRead MoreThe Lottery vs the Destructors Essay examples1046 Words   |  5 PagesThesis In Shirley Jackson’s, â€Å"The Lottery†, and Graham Greene’s â€Å"The Destructors†, the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, grim reality, and a ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately showcases how people blindly follow tradition. Outline I. Introduction II. Setting B. Time Period III. Plot A. What messages are seen inRead More Graham Greens The Quiet American Essay976 Words   |  4 PagesGraham Greens The Quiet American The Quiet American by Graham Green is a story set during the Vietnam War before the United States became involved. The main character is Thomas Fowler, an English Reporter stationed in Vietnam. The story follows approximately six months of his life where he is faced with personal, professional, and ethical trials. The story also follows closely, the lives of two close friends, Pyle and Phuong. Each of the three main characters are from a different country, andRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness And The Quiet American1581 Words   |  7 PagesHeart of Darkness and The Quiet American, the treatment of women and victims of imperialism are almost indistinguishable. Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene were both aware of the constraints women in the 19th and 20th century faced for simply being rational and intelligent. Women were objectified and a straightjacket of propriety, during a time of greed and corruption. Although both works contain moments of this reoccurring supp ression, Heart of Darkness and The Quiet American do recognize the power womenRead MoreAn Imperialistic Love Triangle in The Quiet American1742 Words   |  7 Pagesa past of unscrupulous tyrannical power involving carnal pleasures and deviating from the restrictive morals of the â€Å"occidental.† The Orient displays feminine vulnerability with its progress and value judged as inferior to the West. Graham Greene’s The Quiet American presents the treatment of Phuong as a metaphor for how foreign occupying forces treat her native country of Vietnam, and her depiction as having no control in matters of her love life is a motif of the Orient being a feminized other