Graham Greene wrote his novel The Quiet American more than half a century ago, but it is important today in the same way as it was in the fifties, although the world has changed a lot since then. The Quiet American puts its characters in a complicated political situation of war-torn Vietnam. However, although politics play an integral part of its events and characters, who can be viewed as representations of their countries’ ideologies, the novel remains “somewhat ambivalent on the subject of colonialism”1. Through the interactions between his characters, Greene explores the relationships between their respective countries and their ideologies, using a love triangle as an allegory for two colonial powers deciding the fate of Vietnam.
The first part of this essay will examine the differences between the two principal characters, Thomas Fowler and Alden Pyle. The second part will explain how the characters in this novel represent their respective countries. Then, the love triangle between Fowler, Pyle, and Phuong will be examined as an allegory for the political agendas of the three countries involved in the conflict. Finally, the essay will examine the true moral natures of The Quiet American’s characters and provide a personal opinion on them.
The differences between Thomas Fowler and Alden Pyle
The Quiet American was written as a kind of investigation of the murder of Alden Pyle, who arrived in Vietnam with a humanitarian aid mission, but ended up engaged in subversive terrorist activities. As Evans rightly points out, Pyle’s “main business in the Orient seems to be to encourage anti-communism sentiment”2. He is confident that he carries the great American mission of spreading the values of democracy and that the end justifies the means, but most of all he is confident in his faultlessness. Thomas Fowler is “an English journalist living in Saigon, covering the French Indochina war” and he is the one telling the story3.
He is simply observing the events in Vietnam, not wanting to analyze what is happening, take sides, or give facts a subjective assessment. Pyle is precisely the “quiet American,” but his head is crammed with other people’s thoughts about journalism and all kinds of agitation. He sincerely believes in the correctness of the US actions in Vietnam and in every possible way contributes to the growing nightmare. Unlike Pyle, Fowler has not believed in anything for a long time and perceives the environment with criticism, since the journalistic and personal experience is too vast. Pyle neither smokes nor drinks, Fowler, on the other hand, is fond of whiskey and opium.
However, Fowler is a human being, not a soulless robot who constantly boasts of his purity behind which there is only emptiness. Fowler is much more moral than his respectable rival because he is endowed with the ability to suffer and worry. Pyle truly does not understand that journalism is abstract lines in a newspaper, and a bomb placed in the center of a city is the life of real people. Having read some books, he decides that it is enough to understand the events in Vietnam and proceeds to action.
At the same time, Pyle does not think at all whether the people need this or not and whether they even know what this democracy is. “They want enough rice,” I said. “They don’t want to be shot at.” “They don’t want our white skins around telling them what they want”4. Still, the “quiet American” is sure that he is right, and even after stepping into a pool of blood of innocent residents, the only thing he worries about is that he got his shoes dirty. Not because he is cruel, but because for him it is all superficial.
Characters as countries
There is a very fascinating theme that Greene incorporated into The Quiet American. As Donaghy notices, “the novel has an allegorical level at which the three main characters represent, to some extent, their respective countries”5. Fowler symbolizes Britain, Pyle is the USA and its politics, and Phuong, in this case, is Vietnam — incomprehensible and mysterious. The relationship pattern of the three characters reflects the real arrangement. The Englishman and the American are people of the same kind, they are different, but they have a common denominator of culture. They are missionaries, representatives of the male dominant, ready to pay and enjoy.
The Vietnamese represents a completely different type — she is a female, ready to give pleasure but requires something in return. There is still a significant difference between the Englishman and the American. The image of Fowler is quite autobiographical and represents an aging side of passion. Great Britain and France — the two powerful colonial powers of the early twentieth century are not able to hold peoples and territories. But Pyle, an American, is a representative of a young and strong nation, he is willing to explore all the territories and defend the interests of his country everywhere he goes, not caring about the old-fashioned rules and decencies that these aging aristocrats of colonialism still follow.
The love triangle
The main motives of the novel are related to the description of the characters. A “quiet American” with good intentions, an executioner and at the same time a victim of American propaganda for the promotion of democratic values in the East — this is what Greene associates with the image of Alden Pyle. For Fowler, it is indifference, mental fatigue, the awakening of consciousness and understanding of the criminality of the actions of the West and America in Vietnam. Finally, the author associates the image of a bird with Phuong: “… to take an Annamite to bed with you is like taking a bird”6.
Many condemn her for her desire to leave Fowler for the sake of Pyle’s material wealth. This is not entirely true, since Phuong does not want material, but moral goods. She may love Fowler, but with him, she will never know the joy of family and motherhood, which for her is a real value. Accordingly, this is what Vietnam wants — not abstract benefits, but concrete satiety, peace, and security. With Fowler, Phuong will never be completely happy; with Pyle, she can at least try to.
Unfortunately, Pyle does not like truly love her, he is obsessed with the idea of doing everything right. He has a belief that the values he brought to Vietnam from Boston should be universal. This is reflected both in his talk of the war and in his plans for Phuong. Pyle sincerely believes that he can improve life in Vietnam with the help of his naive theories.
He is trying to “save” Phuong from Fowler, in much the same way he is trying to save Vietnam. However, Fowler’s relationship is very interesting, grown, in a way. He does not love Phuong with the passion of a young man that is often mistaken for real feelings. But he feels so good and comfortable with her that it is above passion, something more valuable, especially at an older age. He is ready to give up Phuong to Pyle, knowing that she will be happier with him. This is rare and admirable and causes a feeling of respect for the character. It is worth noting that we know almost nothing about Phuong. Outside the love triangle lies a much more extensive political triangle, and Phuong seems to be the image of an entire country.
The true faces of the characters
Behind the mask of “self-love,” in accordance with the author’s idea, is the true face of Fowler. He possesses that sense of personal responsibility that is inherent in Greene’s favorite characters. The exact opposite of the aforementioned character is Pyle. The implementation of his moral principles is also an extremely important task for the “quiet American,” however, his morals are formal, artificial. Having imposed himself on Fowler as a friend, he takes his woman, promising her marriage, social status, and prosperous life. But before that, he considers it his duty to speak to his “friend,” boasting of his honesty.
Pyle behaves the same in other situations, for example, when he organizes an explosion in a crowded square. This action led to the deaths of women and children who are not involved nor interested in politics. Here Green masterfully shows the cynicism of this revolting character. “He looked at the wet on his shoes and said in a sick voice: ‘What’s that’ ‘Blood,’ I said. ‘Haven’t you ever seen it before?’ ‘I must get them cleaned before I see the Minister”7. Inwardly, because of his false morality and complete lack of conscience, he remains “pure.” For Pyle, every person killed is either a “red danger” or a “warrior of democracy.”
Which of the characters is more dangerous and worse in moral terms? A selfish cynic with a cold heart or a romantic and idealist for who believes that a lofty goal justifies any means? This is a question that provides food for the mind and makes the reader think. No matter how hard you try to distance yourself, stay away from the conflict, sooner or later you still have to take sides in one way or another. Greene shows that inaction and surveillance in the midst of hostilities are sometimes simply unacceptable. But what should those who are not interested in the war do? Those people do not want violence, but does this not mean that they still have to commit it in order to prevent more evil? Is it wrong to kill one person so that dozens, hundreds and thousands do not get killed? These questions are very complicated, but Greene’s answers are clear.
Personally, I like Greene’s characters because they are very lively, there are no entirely good or bad characters. They are multifaceted and real, with their own weaknesses and mistakes. It is difficult to say unequivocally whether Fowler is a good man or not, for example, judging by the way he used Phuong, thinking only of his calmness and well-being. Such action can not cause sympathy, but somehow I understood him and even felt sorry for him. Pyle, despite his “ideality,” only provokes annoyance and disgust in me. Overall, this novel is different from Greene’s other books as it contains practically no humor, mostly harsh reality. Greene’s mastery of storytelling, which is especially evident in his novels in the genre of detective, became even more significant in The Quiet American.
Works Cited
Donaghy, Henry J. Graham Greene: An Introduction to His Writings. Rodopi B. V., 1986.
Evans, Robert O. “Existensialism in Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’”. Modern Fiction Studies, 1957. JSTOR. Web.
Greene, Graham. The Quiet American. William Heinemann, 1955.
Hoskins, Robert. Graham Greene: An Approach to the Novels. Garland Publishing Inc., 1999.
Kerr, Douglas. “The Quiet American” and the novel. Studies in the Novel, 2006. JSTOR. Web.
Footnotes
- Kerr, Douglas. “The Quiet American” and the novel”, 102.
- Evans, Robert O., “Existensialism in Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’”, 241.
- Hoskins, Robert. Graham Greene: An Approach to the Novels, 155.
- Greene, Graham. The Quiet American, 86.
- Donaghy, Henry J. Graham Greene: An Introduction to His Writings, 69.
- Greene, Graham. The Quiet American, 5.
- Greene, Graham. The Quiet American, 154.