The Quiet American (1955) is a novel (ISBN 0-09-947839-0) written by British author Graham Greene. It has been adapted into films twice, in 1958 and in 2002. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the writer. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A war novel is a novel in which the primary action takes place in a field of armed combat, or in a domestic setting (or home front) where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, or recovery from, war. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... See also: 1954 in literature, other events of 1955, 1956 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This article is about the writer. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ...

Plot summary

Set in Saigon, Vietnam in the early 1950s during the end of the First Indochina War, it portrays two concurrent conflicts: a romantic triangle between the veteran British journalist Thomas Fowler (whom Greene bases on himself), the young American Alden Pyle (a pastiche of American covert operators in Vietnam, it has been suggested with Edward Lansdale in mind, however Lansdale was not involved in Vietnam until shortly before the book was publised which makes this unlikely), and Fowler's Vietnamese mistress Phuong (named after, but not based upon, a Vietnamese friend of Greene's); and the political turmoil and growing American involvement that led to the American Vietnam War. Fowler, who narrates the story, is involved in the war only as an observer; his experiences are partly based on Greene's own years in Vietnam. Pyle is more directly involved on a number of levels, and Greene draws parallels between Pyle's conduct and America's overall policies in Vietnam. The turning point of the story involves an effort by the U.S. to build up a corrupt militia leader, General Thé—based on the actual Trinh Minh The—as a "Third Force" against the [[Viet Minh]]. A series of terrorist bombings in Saigon, blamed on the Communists, are used to justify Thé's takeover of the city; similar nonfictional events took place in 1952 while Greene was in Saigon. Greene believed (and it was soon confirmed) that the bombings were in fact engineered by Thé as a pretext, with the cooperation of American advisers. In the novel, Fowler's discovery of this thinly concealed plot leads him to his one political act, arranging for Pyle's death at the hands of the Communists, which resolves both the romantic triangle and Fowler's disgust with Pyle's destructive idealism, but leaves Fowler with a deep sense of guilt. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Cambodia Laos Viet Minh Commanders French Expeditionary Corps Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1945-46) Jean-Étienne Valluy (1946-8) Roger Blaizot (1948-9) Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1949-50) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1950-51) Raoul Salan (1952-3) Henri Navarre (1953-4... Edward Lansdale in 1963 Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908–February 23, 1987) was a US Air Force officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Trình Minh Thế (1922 - May 3, 1955) was a Vietnamese nationalist and military leader during the end of the First Indochina War and the beginning of the Vietnam War. ...

Major themes

The Quiet American explores several diverse themes through the relationship between Phuong, Pyle and Fowler. Joe is the economic Attaché

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The concept of a Western love and an Eastern love is explored through the contrast between Phuong's pragmatism towards her relationships and Pyle's fairytale concept of love. Fowler warns Pyle that he will be hurt if he marries Phuong since it is not in the Vietnamese nature to love as an American does. The romantic aspect of Pyle and romanticism itself is satirized by Fowler's truthful comment upon Pyle's intent to take her to America, where she would never be at ease. Fowler is already scarred from a previous relationship, and seeks a stable relationship and companionship above sex since he is old and afraid of change. However, several different layers of meaning apply to the theme of relationships in the novel, and it has been suggested that Fowler, rather than being as pragmatic and jaded as suggested, uses his relationship with Phuong to escape his age and the harsh reality of life, and Pyle's involvement threatens his fragile world.

Masculinity

An excellent piece of first-person subjective fiction, Greene's narrator, Fowler, compares himself to Pyle constantly. He focuses both on their differing views of self and the way others (namely Phuong) perceive them. The tension between them comes to a head when Phuong leaves Fowler for Pyle, inspiring regular self-assessment by Fowler. Fowler focuses on self-awareness (seemingly absent from the American characters) and links "colonial" sagacity to his notion of masculinity and refinement. He often mocks Pyle for being childlike and naive, particularly regarding Pyle's love for Phuong. Yet Fowler's early estimations of many of the American characters collapse during the novel's catastrophe: Granger, an obnoxious reporter, proves to be a more sophisticated character than Fowler has allowed; and Pyle shocks Fowler with his willingness to relativize for the sake of Harding's "Third Force", embodied by the ever-present but rarely seen General The. These dramatic reversals suggest that Fowler has, ultimately, been the most naive. Finally, his betrayal of Pyle to communist assassins (despite Pyle having saved Fowler's life from the Viet Minh earlier in the novel) leaves Fowler questioning his motives - whether he set up Pyle's murder for humane ideals or out of insecurity and jealousy of Pyle and their competition for Phuong. Published a decade after World War II, "The Quiet American" probes deep insecurities in post-war English masculinity, a theme deeply tied to national self-image during the waning days of Empire.

Idealism vs. realism

This concept explored thoroughly throughout the book, and Greene uses several key scenes to highlight the schism between the idealist and the realist. One scene which shows this in particular is when Pyle and Fowler are forced to stay in a watchtower for the night. They begin to discuss their viewpoints on politics, religion and relationships. The intense dialogue that occurs gives oblique insight into the cynicism of Fowler and the innocent naivety of Pyle. This theme recurs many times throughout the novel to reinforce the idea.

Uninvolvement vs. involvement

This theme mirrors the concept of contrasting idealism and realism, with Pyle being symbolic of involvement and Fowler being symbolic of uninvolvement. An example of this degree of separation lies in each character's description of their roles; Pyle is happy to be 'hands-on' in his actions, referring to his involvement in such graphically material terms whereas Fowler describes his involvement as disassociatively as possible, referring to his actions in euphemistic terms as 'engagé'. Pyle's want for involvement is materialized in his willingness to kill people for the greater good, to "save the east for Democracy". Fowler, is established as a stubborn and uninvolved man (he must be as a reporter and as an old person) and attempts to make it understood to Pyle several times during the novel that his idealism is harmful, and that the Vietnamese only want 'enough rice' and do not wish for Democracy. However, when it is clear that Pyle has been involved in a sinister terrorist plot which eventually kills dozens horrifically, Fowler is driven by anger and a sense of social justice to rectify Pyle's wrongs. In doing so, Fowler breaks his creed of uninvolvement and schemes to end Pyle's life.

US foreign policy

Tied in to the concept of idealism and realism, US Foreign Policy is criticized by Greene. Pyle is a physical manifestation of the US Foreign Policy, who with his dangerous ignorance, does more harm than good even with his innocent intentions. This dangerous ignorance leads to Pyle being portrayed as naïve and often buffoon-like (see Fowler's account of Pyle's arrival on the punt). As Zadie Smith asserts in her foreword to the 2002 Vintage edition:

[Pyle's] worldy innocence is a kind of fundamentalism: he believes that there must be belief. By hook. By crook. Reading the novel again reinforced my fear of all the Pyles around the world.

This innocence in the character is mirrored in the American intervention in Vietnam. Bernard Fall, in his seminal work Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu, makes note of the allusive intervention of American foreign policy that hindered the vital aid required by the troops at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Bernard B. Fall Bernard B. Fall (November 19, 1926-February 21, 1967) was a prominent war correspondent and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s. ... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Hmong mercenaries Viet Minh Commanders Christian de Castries # Pierre Langlais # René Cogny Vo Nguyen Giap Strength As of March 13: 10,800[1] As of March 13: 48,000 combat personnel, 15,000 logistical support personnel[2] Casualties 2,293 dead, 5,195...

Love triangle

The love triangle between Phuong, Pyle and Fowler is a microcosm of the macro-political situation within the novel. The development of the political situation and the love triangle occurs simultaneously because the three characters are all uniquely symbolic of their countries and their ideologies. For example, as Fowler and Pyle squabble over control of Phuong it is symbolic of the squabble between the US and colonialism over pragmatic Vietnam.

See also

• General Trinh Minh The
• The Quiet American (1958)
  
• The Quiet American (2002)
  

Trình Minh Thế (1922 - May 3, 1955) was a Vietnamese nationalist and military leader during the end of the First Indochina War and the beginning of the Vietnam War. ... The Quiet American was the first film adaptation of Graham Greenes bestselling novel, released in 1958. ... The Quiet American is a 2002 remake of the original 1958 film of the same name, which was based on Graham Greenes bestselling novel. ...

External links

• Amazon book on The Quiet American
• This book has also been quoted by President Bush in a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/08/bushs_quiet_american_reference.html