Graham Greens The Quiet American Essay -- Graham Green Vietnam War Es

Graham Green's The Quiet American The Quiet American by Graham Green is a story set during the Vietnam War before the United States became involved. The main character is Thomas Fowler, an English Reporter stationed in Vietnam. The story follows approximately six months of his life where he is faced with personal, professional, and ethical trials. The story also follows closely, the lives of two close friends, Pyle and Phuong. Each of the three main characters are from a different country, and they were used to represent it. As the main character in the novel, Fowler possessed many complex levels to his psyche. He came across as a bitter, cold-hearted person but in actuality was probably the character that felt the most in the book. Like the typical Englishman, he kept his emotions to himself, and out of sight from others. He had his own stand points on religion and politics that he definitely stood by. In the war, England did not take sides, on account of their immense losses during WWII, and like them, Fowler did not take sides. Different people in the story felt that "One has to take sides. If one is to remain human" (174), but as an a European, especially an Englishman, he was for the most part, neutral. Americans were not very popular in Greene’s novel, and Pyle was the hated American. He immediately assumed a close relationship with Fowler upon just one meeting. He became accustomed to calling him Thomas, and not only as a referential name, but in almost ...