In the quiet american, pyle is a figure of extreme innocence while fowler is a figure of extreme cynicism. The problem is not only that the implicit leftist, progressive underpinning of such a program conflicts with intellectual traditions that developed outside the christian. The american and british government dont give a single, shiny fuck about human rights violations. Fowler quickly comes to see pyle as a danger precisely because the quiet american is meddling in affairs way over his head. At the start of the novel, fowler describes pyle as too innocent to live. But pyles innocence goes beyond his lack of knowledge or grasp of foreignpolicy subtleties. Fowler himself second guesses his actions almost immediately. Diy projects and ideas for makers davening living with your engineer. A summary of part one, chapter 1 in graham greenes the quiet american. A subplot concerns a love triangle between fowler, an american cia agent named alden pyle, and phuong, a young vietnamese woman. What right had i to value pyles fiancee less than the bodies in the square. The character alden pyle in graham greenes novel the quiet american is a very patriotic, idealistic american who believed he could make a difference in the world in a country that he knew very little about. A jaded english journalist and a youthful american economic aid officer fall in love with the same woman, the willowy, amberskinned phuong, an embodiment of the eternal beauty and mystery of vietnam.
Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by washington on a mysterious. He first tries to educate pyle, but when pyle fails to see the real world consequences of his actions, fowler sees no other option than to take sides against him. Fowler sees pyles fearlessness as an aspect of his innocence both of which fowler believes to be character flaws. The quiet american graham greenes classic exploration of love, innocence, and morality in vietnam i never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused, graham greenes narrator fowler remarks of alden pyle, the eponymous quiet american of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. The quiet american, by graham greene, was written in 1955 and set in vietnam, then the site of a rising local insurgency against french. The quiet american project gutenberg selfpublishing. In fact, the film version of the quiet american inadvertently reveals just how much european antiamericanism has changed over the last. Graham greene s 1955 novel the quiet american enjoys a certain prestige with american readers who identify themselves as progressive.
He is angry about pyles death, and readers dont yet know about fowlers involvement in it. The fate of innocent people is a frequent point of contention in the quiet american. One further potential flaw with the quiet american is that the friendship between the two men comes across as forced, certainly on pyles side. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the quiet american and what it means. How the quiet american continues to colonize vietnam. Pyle, the quiet american of the title, is a thirtytwoyearold harvardeducated idealist and the son of the famous professor harold. The reader knows that pyle is apart of the american economic attach e from the first chapter, and since the moulds have an american trade name on them one could only suspect that he has a connection with mr. Graham greene paints a vivid portrait of the quiet american. Victims of his terrorism arent human beings lost forever.
As a friendship develops between the pair, pyle falls in love with fowlers vietnamese. The question and answer section for the quiet american is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. A subplot concerns a love triangle between fowler, an american cia agent named alden pyle, and phuong, a young vietnamese. Graham greenes 1955 novel the quiet american enjoys a certain prestige with american readers who identify themselves as progressive. Narrated in the first person by journalist thomas fowler, the novel depicts the breakdown of french colonialism in vietnam and early american involvement in the vietnam war. The thesis is quite simply that america is a crassly materialistic and innocent. He is sincere in his interpersonal dealings, to a degree that makes him seem unduly formal as well as naive. The quiet american paperback chicago public library.
Living a rich life of intrigue and adventure, reporting on the franco. Alden pyle is young, highly idealistic, and romanticthe titular quiet american. Feb 26, 2003 in fact, the film version of the quiet american inadvertently reveals just how much european antiamericanism has changed over the last 50 years. Zadie smith on the genius of graham greene books the. Pyle lives his life and forms his opinions based on foreign policy books written by york harding with no real experience in southeast asia matters. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Fowler quickly comes to see pyle as a danger precisely because the quiet american is meddling in affairs way over. The quiet american, his love story set in the chaos of 1950s. Is the character of pyle in the quiet american based on general lansdale. Bantam paperback, 1955 the quiet american serves up a classic love triangle amid political treachery in saigon.
His innocence, thinks fowler, is a kind of insanity 3. Posts about love triangle written by uglyamericanbookclub. May 14, 2019 the quiet american is narrated by fowler, an aging english journalist on assignment in what was then called indochina, covering the breakup of french control over vietnam. The quiet american is a 1955 novel by english author graham greene. The quiet american by graham greene, 1955 the ugly. This is fowler trying to break through pyles innocence and idealism with a bit of cheeky british humor. In this respect it is remarkably similar to our man in havana, which was published just before the cuban revolution of 1959. The quiet american epitomized the young us officer in the late 1960s who lamented to a reporter in all innocence that we had to destroy the village in order to save it. The quiet american i n what is becoming a minitradition, sir michael caine has given a preemptive eveofrelease interview for this film, claiming that he is unappreciated by snippy british critics. Inspire to enact sweeping political change abroad, he joins the american secret service and travels to vietnam. The quiet american book snoisle libraries bibliocommons. The book draws on greenes experiences as a war correspondent for the times and le figaro in french indochina 19511954. This popularity comes from the perception that the novel.
In the quiet american, by graham greene, alden pyle is an innocent, and therefore problematic, character. The quiet american book the kansas city public library. Hes taken superficial, nicesounding ideas he read in a book and. The danger of pyles innocence emerges most clearly at the end of the novel, when he. The quiet american serves up a classic love triangle amid political treachery in saigon. Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it. Graham greene, whose centenary is next month, was a more ethically complex novelist than is usually remembered, argues zadie smith. His sincerity is always murky because in most cases, he avoids revealing his true emotions. Whereas pyle gets his information from books of political theory, as a journalist.
Nov 28, 2002 the quiet american i n what is becoming a minitradition, sir michael caine has given a preemptive eveofrelease interview for this film, claiming that he is unappreciated by snippy british critics. He is bostonbred and harvardeducated, exceedingly polite and highly scrupled. The quiet american is an antiwar novel by english author graham greene, first published in the united kingdom in 1955 and in the united states in 1956. The quiet american, which has been adapted twiceoriginally in 1958 and then again in 2002was inspired by greenes time in french indochina and often draws from some of his experiences as a war correspondent. It is ironic that fowler cites pyles innocence as the. Of course, whether fowler was right in killing pyle is up to the reader. Alden pyle is a fine example of an american whose innocence and good intentions bring tragic consequences.
The character of alden pyle in the quiet american from. Pyle, on the other hand, prefers to gather knowledge from scholarly sources. Greene has granted the quiet american a few good qualities. The quiet american book the seattle public library. The story begins with the news of alden pyles murder. Jan 02, 2019 bantam paperback, 1955 the quiet american serves up a classic love triangle amid political treachery in saigon. His innocence and good intentions are weapons that injure others while shielding him from responsibility. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. The quiet american study guide contains a biography of graham greene, literature essays, quiz questions. The quiet american is an interesting novel from a historical perspective, as it was written in the 1950s and foreshadows the future development of the vietnam conflict and americas role in it. Pyle perceives the individuals and armies and nations only in so far as they conform to his beliefs. Sep 17, 2004 graham greene, whose centenary is next month, was a more ethically complex novelist than is usually remembered, argues zadie smith. A summary of themes in graham greenes the quiet american. Pyle wants to protect phuong and be a good, honest friend to fowler.
A summary of themes in graham greene s the quiet american. The quiet american, by graham greene 1430 words 6 pages. In the quiet american, pyle is a figure of extreme innocence. Graham greenes classic exploration of love, innocence, and morality in vietnam i never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused, graham greenes narrator fowler remarks of alden pyle, the eponymous quiet american of what is perhaps the most. The quiet american is a 1955 novel by english author graham greene narrated in the first person by journalist thomas fowler, the novel depicts the breakdown of french colonialism in vietnam and early american involvement in the vietnam war. Therefore, the quiet american is an antiwar novel because it projects no positive outcome. He speaks about fowler being his best friend, even though they have known each other for only a. Excellent book but published 1955, not 1915 the novel implicitly questions the foundations of growing american involvement in vietnam in the 1950s.
Pyle s death accusations against fowler and subsequent flashbacks love triangle pyle, fowler, phuong. Essay on the quiet american by graham greene 1400 words. Jul 04, 2010 the quiet american draws from renowned author graham greenes rich experiences in french indochina. Dec 24, 2002 the quiet american epitomized the young us officer in the late 1960s who lamented to a reporter in all innocence that we had to destroy the village in order to save it. Alden pyle, an idealistic young american, is sent to vietnam to promote democracy amidst the intrigue and violence of the french war with the vietminh. Nov 05, 2002 the quiet american is an interesting novel from a historical perspective, as it was written in the 1950s and foreshadows the future development of the vietnam conflict and americas role in it. The quiet american is an antiwar novel by british author graham greene, first published in united kingdom in 1955 and in the united states in 1956. The quiet american the quiet american audiobook, by graham greene.
Because fowler is the only narrator of the quiet american, it is important to be skeptical of him as a source of information. Apr 21, 2008 the quiet american, by graham greene, was written in 1955 and set in vietnam, then the site of a rising local insurgency against french colonial rule. Graham greenes classic exploration of love, innocence, and morality in vietnam i never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused, graham greenes narrator fowler remarks of alden pyle, the eponymous quiet american of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Living a rich life of intrigue and adventure, reporting on the francovietminh war, the waning grip of.
A professors son, pyle has led a gentle, intellectual life in boston and at harvard university, where he first encounters the writings of his intellectual hero, york harding. Graham greenes classic exploration of love, innocence, and m. Pyle refuses to drink, never swears around women, and courts. Once again, the uncertainty of pyles true dealing in vietnam come into question as mr. A subplot concerns a love triangle between fowler, an american cia agent named alden pyle, and phuong, a. Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by washington on a mysterious mission to saigon. The quiet american seems unusual in that it presents a case against innocence, something that is usually put up on a pedestal. His friend fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, looks on but soon finds it difficult to remain simply an observer. When the novel begins, fowler and his onetime vietnamese paramour phuong discover that the titular american, pylean ingenuous 32yearold harvard man working for the. The quiet american draws from renowned author graham greenes rich experiences in french indochina. The quiet american study guide contains a biography of graham greene, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. He blames the death on pyles youth and ignorance, implying the americans never should have thrust pyle into the vietnam conflict armed only with ideals from his favorite books and no real experience or. Alden pyle is a 32yearold american who is on an assignment with the economic aid mission.
Set in 1950s, the quiet american is a fictional firsthand account of an aging british reporter, thomas fowler. I stopped our trishaw outside the chalet and said to phuong, go in and find a table. Zadie smith on the genius of graham greene books the guardian. Graham greenes vietnam novel the quiet american 1955 tells the story of a.
1332 361 1133 1210 816 1315 137 27 1208 747 238 1586 219 573 981 531 1243 282 1253 110 101 1235 1558 996 183 651 678 1033 1015 1022 193 72 1107 1088 962 1031 1418 699 341