The narrator, a middleaged british journalist named thomas fowler, is sitting in his room waiting for his friend, alden pyle. Youre stuck with a wife you really don t like, you hate your job, and you just got sent to a war zone. The main character is thomas fowler, an english reporter stationed in vietnam. Graham greens the quiet american the quiet american by graham green is a story set during the vietnam war before the united states became involved. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it. The quiet american kindle edition by greene, graham. It depicts war as an absurd endeavor, orchestrated by cynical politicians, fought by terrified, guiltridden soldiers, and reported on by journalists eager to catch a big story. Masterfully set during the french occupation of indochina in the early 1950s as well as the communist and american struggles against it, the quiet american unfurls two plots. 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.
Aside from its legacy in antiwar literature, the quiet american is an intense espionage thriller and a poignant reflection on human weakness. Fowler is an aging, british foreign correspondent and an opium addict. The quiet american study guide contains a biography of graham greene, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. The quiet american focuses on the early stages of u. So, audie murphy and brendan fraser in the 2002 version only had to basically show up in.
Set in the early 1950s in saigon, vietnam, during the end of the first indochina war, on one level the quiet american is a love story about the triangle that develops between a british journalist in his fifties, a young american idealist and a vietnamese girl, but on another level it is also about the political turmoil and growing american. Here was a unique depiction of life in the trenches from an enemy point of view, a novel approach. The quiet american, his love story set in the chaos of 1950s. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes the quiet american study guide has everything you need to. Interested in politics and history from an early age, greene attended oxford university, where he. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comic con sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
Sean thornton has returned from america to reclaim his homestead and escape his past. The heroic american the first film adaptation of the quiet american makes pyle into a wise protagonist, but its still more faithful to the source material than peter jacksons hobbit movies. But make no mistake, it was a long, savage, and destructive conflict that foreshadowed much of the american vietnam experience. The ugly american is an example of a novel that met with only modest commercial success until an effort was made to ban it. The quiet american part one, chapter 1 summary and. The quiet american is loosely adapted from graham greenes penetrating 1956 book about the indochina war. London customs agent couldnt believe john krasinski is married to emily blunt duration. The story follows approximately six months of his life where he is faced with personal, professional, and ethical trials. The novel implicitly questions the foundations of growing american involvement in vietnam in the 1950s. In the early 1950s, french colonial military forces are bogged down in an increasingly brutal war for control of french indochina, and the possibility of a viet minh victory has begun to attract the attention of certain sectors of the american military and political establishment. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach. It never occurred to me that there was a greater need to protect myself.
Because fowler is the only narrator of the quiet american, it is important to be skeptical of him as a source of information. In these works, good and evil arent easily distinguishable, and the protagonists allies often devolve into enemies before becoming allies once again. The quiet american 1958 was among the first films to deal with the problem of the american presence in vietnam or indochina, as it was commonly known at that time. The quiet american is a lovely little mover, barely breaking into a sweat as it dances its dreadful dance of love and need to the backing tune of political unrest, moral ambiguity and subterfuge. The quiet american study guide contains a biography of graham greene, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The central historical event connected to the quiet american is the conflict in vietnam. Both versions of this movie are more about the mystery of quiet american, alden pyle and what he is doing in vietnam in 1952, than they are about the characters themselves. Introduction of the novel graham greene wrote the quiet american in 1955 the book is a novel based on greenes experience traveling and reporting on the war which the vietnam were waging against the french colonial army in vietnam in the early 1950s. 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. In this respect it is remarkably similar to our man in havana, which was published just before the cuban revolution of 1959. See a complete list of the characters in the quiet american and indepth analyses of thomas fowler, alden pyle, phuong, and vigot. 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 quickly comes to see pyle as a danger precisely because the quiet american is meddling in affairs way over his head.
The quiet american summary after waiting for a few hours for a man named pyle to arrive at his apartment, thomas fowler decides to take a look around outside. Narrated in the first person by journalist thomas fowler, the novel depicts the. Essay on the quiet american by graham greene 1400 words. He doesnt find pyle, but he does run into phuong, whos also anxious about pyles whereabouts. The ugly american of the book title refers to the books hero, plainlooking engineer homer atkins, whose calloused and greaseblackened hands always reminded him that he. Thomas fowler is a middleaged british journalist living in saigon and covering the conflict in vietnam between the french colonial forces and the viet minh communists. The quiet american also reflects the growing number of dark, morally ambiguous spy novels that emerged in the years following world war ii. The quiet american greene and the cold war mindset. The novels events have already taken place and fowler is the narrator of the story. It was first published in 1955, at the beginning of the u. Pyle, the quiet american of the title, is a thirtytwoyearold harvardeducated idealist and the son of the famous professor harold.
The 2002 version of the quiet american, in contrast to the earlier 1958 film version, depicted greenes original ending and. The united states information service tried to ban the books sale. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. The novel explores the nuances among french, american, and british social and political relations with vietnam.
Thomas fowler, the narrator, is a correspondent from england residing in saigon and reporting on the war. In graham greenes the quiet american the topics of innocence and naivete are in constant and. Thomas fowler is a british journalist in his fifties who has been covering the french war in viet nam for over two years. Pico iyer finds modern meaning in graham greenes novel about a naive american who arrives in a foreign place. A retired american boxer returns to the village where he was born in ireland, where he finds love. 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. If you feel these have been helpful, please donate andor join our mailing list below. Graham greene weaves the concept of impartiality into areas of journalism, politics, and personal relationships. Pyle, the quiet american of the title, is a thirtytwoyearold harvardeducated idealist and the son of the. Pyle is very late and it is unusual for him to not send word in. Lew ayres gives a memorable performance as paul baumer, the sensitive german soldier, and has a fine supporting cast. Apr 22, 2017 london customs agent couldnt believe john krasinski is married to emily blunt duration. Therefore, the quiet american is an antiwar novel because it projects no positive outcome. The quiet american is an antiwar novel by graham greene that was published in 1955 in the united kingdom and in 1956 in the united states.
The human factor is an espionage novel by graham greene, first published in 1978 and. He meets a young american idealist named alden pyle, who is a student of york harding. What is the meaning of innocence in the quiet american. The best study guide to the quiet american on the planet, from the creators of sparknotes. The next day fowler and phuong go to get her belongings from pyles place. The fact that terrorist attacks and bombings occur in the midst of this urbane and sophisticated center of.
The quiet american takes place in saigon in the mid1950s. Graham greenes novel the quiet american 1955 told the story of this triangle against the background of americas adventure in vietnam in the early 1950swhen, he shows us, the cia used pleasant, presentable agents like pyle to pose as aid workers while arranging terrorist acts that would justify our intervention there. All quiet remains right at the top of my list of outstanding war pictures. Youre stuck with a wife you really dont like, you hate your job, and you just got sent to a war zone. Zadie smith on the genius of graham greene books the guardian. Below are workshop materials, samples from our books and free ukulele tabs, along with the teaching videos that accompany them. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes the quiet american study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. The tonight show starring jimmy fallon recommended for you.
The story takes place in the midst of the conflict between the viet minh and the south vietnamese, who are supported by the french. Throughout the 19th century, the country now known as vietnam was a part of french indochina, a huge colonial territory spanning vietnam, cambodia, laos, and parts of china. The quiet american is written by graham greene and tells the story of how pyle goes missing and ends up dead. According to fowler, pyle is dangerous because he is innocentthat is, he sincerely wants to help bring an end to the conflict in vietnam, but he. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the quiet american by graham greene. The quiet american by graham greene to bed with a trollope. The quiet american project gutenberg selfpublishing. The quiet american 2002 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The the quiet american quotes below are all either spoken by general the or refer to general the. Alden pyle is a 32yearold american who is on an assignment with the economic aid mission. The quiet american essays are academic essays for citation. Need help on characters in graham greenes the quiet american. The quiet american is a 1955 war romance novel by english author graham greene.
A young naive american named alden pyle brendan fraser and a cynical older british journalist called fowler michael caine disagree over politics in 1952 vietnam and over a beautiful young native girl called phuong do thi hai yen. It was directed by phillip noyce and starred michael caine, brendan fraser, and do thi hai yen. 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. The character of general the in the quiet american from. The quiet american is a novel by graham greene that is set in vietnam in the early 1950s.
The quiet american study guide from litcharts the creators. It is narrated in the first person by thomas fowler, an english reporter living there and covering the war. The theme of vietnam and the west in the quiet american. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the quiet american. It tells a tale of the struggles of two people, thomas fowler and alden pyle. He has been living in vietnam with his mistress phuong for quite a while and does not wish t. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the quiet american by graham greene. Vietnam and the west set in vietnam from 19521955, the quiet american examines the countrys colonial history and its relationship to europe and america at that time. Two years into his assignment he meets alden pyle, an american intelligence operative working undercover in the economic aid mission. The quiet american takes place in 1950s vietnam, a time when the french were still the ones fighting the vietminh, and american involvement was all but invisible. Seans eye is caught by mary kate danaher, a beautiful but poor. French is the common language between the vietnamese and the westerners.
This novel is about the conflict between alden pyle and thomas fowler. The quiet american is a 2002 film adaptation of graham greene s bestselling novel set in vietnam, the quiet american. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the quiet american, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The quiet american deals with the difficulty of remaining neutral, or impartial, despite ones intentions. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The quiet american characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Apr 21, 2008 the disquieting resonance of the quiet american can we learn from our past mistakes. The quiet american part two, chapter 1 summary and. The quiet american study guide from litcharts the creators of. Thomas fowler is a british journalist in his fifties who has covered the french war in vietnam for more than two years. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of the quiet american. Sep 24, 2011 ngs nuanced debut novel begins with the death of a teenage girl and then uses the mysterious circumstances of her drowning as a springboard to dive into the troubled waters beneath the calm surface of her chinese american family. Pyle, the quiet american of the title, is a thirtytwoyearold harvardeducated idealist and the son of the famous professor harold c.
Thomas fowler alden pyle phuong inspector vigot bill granger joe the economic attache the quiet american written by graham greene. After waiting for a few hours for a man named pyle to arrive at his apartment, thomas fowler decides to take a look around outside. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The quiet american is a novel by graham greene that was first published in 1955. The quiet american is set during the 1950s in vietnam.
The book the quiet american by graham greene begins by introducing thomas fowler. 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. The quiet american, novel by graham greene, combining a murder mystery with a cautionary tale of western involvement in vietnam. Pyle is an american intelligence operative working undercover in the economic aid mission. The quiet american themes from litcharts the creators of. The story begins with the news of alden pyles murder. The quiet american is a 1955 novel by english author graham greene. Michael caine gets mad the 2002 film version, which was more faithful to the novel, was shelved for a time after 911. Greene drew upon his own experiences in indochina as a war correspondent for the times and le figaro in the early 1950s.
Alden pyle, the quiet american, is an undercover cia operative working to arm third force that he hopes can bring an end to the conflict and stability to the region. You dont have to agree with the narrators politics or cynicism to get wrapped up in the novels drama of love and war, honesty and deception. The original book by graham greene was overtly critical of uncle sams presence in vietnam and caused an uproar in the u. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Sep 17, 2004 graham greene, whose centenary is next month, was a more ethically complex novelist than is usually remembered, argues zadie smith. The quiet american graham greene 19041991 was a british journalist, screenwriter, and novelist who wrote his major works in the midtwentieth century, from approximately 1930 to 1970. The title of the novel is a play on graham greenes 1955 novel the quiet american. 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. While he used his observations as a basis for the novel, greene has claimed several times that the quiet american is not intended to. A french stronghold, saigon is the site for much of the action in the quiet american.