Nnpyle's innocence in the quiet american books

Greenes book is much better written but to be fair at the point of writing the quiet american, greene was a more experienced novelist than nguyen is now, and has more layers of moral ambiguities. But fowlers motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and himself, for pyle has stolen fowlers beautiful vietnamese mistress. The quiet american is a 1955 novel by english author graham greene. He is sincere in his interpersonal dealings, to a degree that makes him seem unduly formal as well as naive. Its a piece of history, but most importantly, its superb writing and a tense, perfectlycrafted story. Whereas pyle gets his information from books of political theory, as a journalist. Alden pyle best represents the theme of paternalism in the quiet america. The character of alden pyle in the quiet american from. The thesis is quite simply that america is a crassly materialistic and innocent.

The quiet american takes place during this often overlooked conflict and is told from the it is often overshadowed by the american vietnam war, the korean war, and contemporaneous events in europe. Victims of his terrorism arent human beings lost forever. This book is absolutely to be treasured and kept on a favorite bookshelf, for generations to read, explore, and ponder. Despite his immaturity, pyle believes he will be a better husband to phuong than fowler because he coddles her and tries to shield her from terrible things. 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.

Sometimes this is mistaken by the innocent for unselfishness, when all i am doing is. But make no mistake, it was a long, savage, and destructive conflict that foreshadowed much of the american vietnam experience. A summary of themes in graham greenes the quiet american. Greene portrays pyle as so blinded by american exceptionalism that he cannot see the calamities he brings upon the vietnamese. But im still thinking about these books, and will for a long time. He was apparently inspired to write the quiet american during october 1951. Alden pyle is a 32yearold american who is on an assignment with the economic aid mission. The danger of pyles innocence emerges most clearly at the end of the novel, when he. Inspire to enact sweeping political change abroad, he joins the american secret service and travels to vietnam. And of course, the young american idealist, whose strict sense of right and wrong clashes so strongly with reality in vietnam. Pyle perceives the individuals and armies and nations only in so far as they conform to his beliefs. The quiet american penguin classics deluxe edition. Originally published in 1956 and twice adapted to film.