Collonism In The Quiet American, By Graham Greene

930 Words2 Pages

“I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. Government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building” (Edward Snowden). Before WW2, communism became a colossal concern due to the idea that various people were aiming more on what countries they wanted to colonize. Later after the war, from 1945-1964, the Vietnamese expanded Southward expecting to reach the Mekong River Delta. As a result of their movement, the Vietnamese absorbed French influence established upon choice and freedom to individuals. France was preferential where as the U.S. Was pushed further away because the French recognized the democratic republic of Vietnam (DMV) as a free state. In the novel The Quiet American, by Graham Greene, Thomas Fowler, a British journalist, meets an American CIA agent named Alden Pyle who is always reading books by York Harding. Pyle's opinions are based on Harding’s beliefs that a Third Force, a country that interferes with two fighting nations to help reach a settlement, is the best way to help Vietnam out of Communism. Both Fowler and Pyle battle over a women named Phuong, wanting what is best for her and the rest of Vietnam. While Fowler wants nonintervention, Pyle wants to do the complete opposite. In the novel The Quiet American, Pyle believes he has to bring in a Third Force to stop communism which became a threat to the Vietnamese when in contrast, Fowler is more justified because he interpreted the main conflict of the Third Force and the view of the Vietnamese people.
Vietnam was influenced previously with communism and as a result both America and
France stepped into the immense picture to help the Vietnamese, but Pyle made...

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...France paid more attention to what happened to the people and the tension between them and America.
Although Pyle has good intentions to help Vietnam, he does not quite notice everything going on when, America, wanted to take over Vietnam for the better. Fowler wants to keep neutralization and provide peace and freedom. In the novel The Quiet American, Pyle may be right that if America does not provide force and will not be able to help, they will still make no progress because the Vietnamese would push away. Pyle strongly believes that he has to influence the Vietnamese with their American appeals by force when in contrast, Fowler contradicts that America should remain neutral and consider the view of the Vietnamese people. It is for this reason Fowler is more justified over the fact that he does not want to take anything away from the citizens of Vietnam.

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