Instructions for the quiet american paper
Purpose of the Assignment:
A particular belief that seems to underlay U.S. foreign policy since at least the Spanish-American War is the idea that the U.S. can intervene military to restore order to a given society. A glancing look across the twentieth century and the past two decades offers much evidence to support this assertion. Still, it begs the question, Why?
Graham Greene explores this quirk in American exceptionalism in his novel The Quiet American, set in an interminable war of Vietnamese independence and French colonial decadence in the mid-1950s. Ethical ambiguity reigns throughout the novel, and characters pursue their own interests informed by discrete motivations.
Students are tasked with exploring this ambiguity to assess Greene’s understanding of the nature of conflict in a world rapidly becoming hostage to the grasp of Cold War logic. More to the point, how can The Quiet Americanhelp us understand about the Cold War and colonialism / neo-colonialism in the early post-World War II era as it played out in southeastern Asia?
You are encouraged to read pp. 760-785 in the textbook Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 5th edition, Volume C. This portion of chapter 20 will provide all the necessary context to situate Greene’s novel.
It may help you to think of each character as representing a country and at times and depending on the character a particular social class of a country.
Questions to consider as you cobble together your paper:
Fowler
Who are some of the more important secondary characters? What roles do they play?
What are the author’s views on war?
What are the author’s views on the looming defeat of French colonialism?
What are the author’s views on the intervention by the Americans?
How does the author comment on the behavior of strong countries intervening in weaker ones?
How does Fowler describe the various Vietnamese he encounters?
What is the resolution to the novel’s problem?
What is the moral of the story?
Paper requirements:
The paper’s length should be between 1,050 and 1,550 words (4-6 pages). Use 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.25” margins on the right and left margins.
Fair warnings:
A particular belief that seems to underlay U.S. foreign policy since at least the Spanish-American War is the idea that the U.S. can intervene military to restore order to a given society. A glancing look across the twentieth century and the past two decades offers much evidence to support this assertion. Still, it begs the question, Why?
Graham Greene explores this quirk in American exceptionalism in his novel The Quiet American, set in an interminable war of Vietnamese independence and French colonial decadence in the mid-1950s. Ethical ambiguity reigns throughout the novel, and characters pursue their own interests informed by discrete motivations.
Students are tasked with exploring this ambiguity to assess Greene’s understanding of the nature of conflict in a world rapidly becoming hostage to the grasp of Cold War logic. More to the point, how can The Quiet Americanhelp us understand about the Cold War and colonialism / neo-colonialism in the early post-World War II era as it played out in southeastern Asia?
You are encouraged to read pp. 760-785 in the textbook Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 5th edition, Volume C. This portion of chapter 20 will provide all the necessary context to situate Greene’s novel.
It may help you to think of each character as representing a country and at times and depending on the character a particular social class of a country.
Questions to consider as you cobble together your paper:
Fowler
- Who is Fowler?
- Who does he represent?
- What are his motivations?
- Do you believe him when he says he is not engaged?
- Why?
- Who is Pyle?
- What are his motivations?
- Who is Phuong?
- What are her motivations?
- What might she represent for Greene?
Who are some of the more important secondary characters? What roles do they play?
What are the author’s views on war?
What are the author’s views on the looming defeat of French colonialism?
What are the author’s views on the intervention by the Americans?
How does the author comment on the behavior of strong countries intervening in weaker ones?
How does Fowler describe the various Vietnamese he encounters?
What is the resolution to the novel’s problem?
What is the moral of the story?
Paper requirements:
The paper’s length should be between 1,050 and 1,550 words (4-6 pages). Use 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.25” margins on the right and left margins.
Fair warnings:
- Failure to follow the instructions, including formatting, will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- Failure to turn in the paper by the due date will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- The use of external sources and materials not expressly permitted by Professor Hyland will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- Failure to use specific, concrete examples from the book will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- Failure to cite the relevant page numbers to the specific, concrete examples will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- If it becomes evident that you did not read the text will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.
- Turning in the paper on time, but failing to come to class to discuss the book will result in a ‘0’ (zero) for the grade.