Instructions for the paper on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Purpose of the Assignment
For the younger generation of Americans and Europeans, the paranoia, grand politics, international espionage and its counter, and the cultural production of the Cold War (1947-1991) are relics residing in the closet of history. Yet, global citizens live with the consequences of four decades of indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, which often manifested in proxy battles in far-flung places like Central America and Central Asia. At the heart of the conflict was a so-called battle of morality pitting the forces of liberal democracies versus the ranks of communist regimes.
Students are tasked to engage critically the complexity and ambiguity of morality in John Le Carré’s novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963). Le Carré, a former member of British intelligence, assesses whether or not good (Western liberal democracies) and bad (Communist regimes) can be neatly divided. Please note, the author wrote this novel during a heightened period of confrontation between the West (USA, UK and their allies) and the Soviets in the late 1950s and 1960s (e.g. revolution in Guatemala, Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis). As a point of reference for the novel, please prepare by reading George Kennan’s 1946 diplomatic cable known as “The Long Telegram” (located in your Companion Reader, pp. 326-333). The positions advocated in this document served as the cornerstone of US diplomatic policy for the duration of the Cold War. In addition, the relevant pages in your textbook, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, should be useful too (pp. 753-783).
In evaluating the issues of morality, please use explicit, concrete examples from the novel, citing the relevant page numbers. You may want to consider the following questions in constructing your essay:
1) What are the moral (and/or ideological) considerations in the Cold War?
2) How does the author set up these contrasts?
3) Does the author present a complex picture (moral or otherwise) regarding this world of espionage and counter espionage?
4) Which characters are moral, immoral and amoral?
5) What are the author’s views on the question of morality in the era of Cold War?
6) Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not?
Requirements
This review must be double-spaced and typed. Please use 12-point Times New Roman font and 1.25” margins. They should vary from 1,000 to 1,500 words in length (four to six typed pages).
Purpose of the Assignment
For the younger generation of Americans and Europeans, the paranoia, grand politics, international espionage and its counter, and the cultural production of the Cold War (1947-1991) are relics residing in the closet of history. Yet, global citizens live with the consequences of four decades of indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, which often manifested in proxy battles in far-flung places like Central America and Central Asia. At the heart of the conflict was a so-called battle of morality pitting the forces of liberal democracies versus the ranks of communist regimes.
Students are tasked to engage critically the complexity and ambiguity of morality in John Le Carré’s novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963). Le Carré, a former member of British intelligence, assesses whether or not good (Western liberal democracies) and bad (Communist regimes) can be neatly divided. Please note, the author wrote this novel during a heightened period of confrontation between the West (USA, UK and their allies) and the Soviets in the late 1950s and 1960s (e.g. revolution in Guatemala, Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis). As a point of reference for the novel, please prepare by reading George Kennan’s 1946 diplomatic cable known as “The Long Telegram” (located in your Companion Reader, pp. 326-333). The positions advocated in this document served as the cornerstone of US diplomatic policy for the duration of the Cold War. In addition, the relevant pages in your textbook, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, should be useful too (pp. 753-783).
In evaluating the issues of morality, please use explicit, concrete examples from the novel, citing the relevant page numbers. You may want to consider the following questions in constructing your essay:
1) What are the moral (and/or ideological) considerations in the Cold War?
2) How does the author set up these contrasts?
3) Does the author present a complex picture (moral or otherwise) regarding this world of espionage and counter espionage?
4) Which characters are moral, immoral and amoral?
5) What are the author’s views on the question of morality in the era of Cold War?
6) Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not?
Requirements
This review must be double-spaced and typed. Please use 12-point Times New Roman font and 1.25” margins. They should vary from 1,000 to 1,500 words in length (four to six typed pages).