The Ugly American is a novel that showcases the contrast between virtuosity and deplorability in American diplomacy. Through characters like Father Finnian and Colonel Hillandale the epitome of effective diplomatic efforts are displayed. With kindness, understanding of the Asian people, and a deep compulsion to help these men did more to contain communism and to bring aid to the people of Southeast Asia, specifically In “Sarkhan” than the whole of the American government. However, characters such as Lou Sears and Joe Bing displayed the ostentatious and self-serving nature of American diplomats overseas. Lou and Joe did close to nothing to hinder the spread of communism, and even less to aid the Sarkhanese. As mentioned Finnian and Hillindale …show more content…
For instance, Joe Bing hosted large extravagant parties that were funded by American tax payers. These gatherings where closed off to the indigenous people of Sarkhan, and where held for the main purpose of impressing white westerners. He also adopted horrible techniques when it came to recruiting members for overseas work, Joe made it seem like it was one government sponsored vacation with no real responsibilities. Coincidently people he attracted with this form of recruitment where just as lazy as him and led to a detrimental cycle of irresponsibility. Lou Sears was equally as vial if not worse than Joe, because he was in a position of more power than Joe, as an American ambassador to Sarkhan, and did absolutely nothing with it. He also doesn’t mingle with the Sarkhanese, but he is a blatant racist calling the natives, “monkeys.” He used his time in Sarkhan as a rest stop on the road to judgeship in America. He expelled John Colvin from Sarkhan, who was only there to clot the bleeding arm or Sarkhan and aid in the economic independence of its people. When the chance for him to leave came about he jumped ship like it was the Titanic. U Mang Swe summarized Joe and Lou perfectly when he said, “…They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They’re loud and ostentatious. Perhaps they’re frightened and defensive; or maybe they’re not properly trained
The award-winning author, Luis Alberto Urrea, creator of The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and The Devil's Highway, describes The Devil’s Highway which occurred in May of 2001, one of many that impacted the desert on undocumented immigrants. which is a desert located beyond Sonora, Mexico. It is a desert which few turn to in able to cross over. A group of illegal Mexican were left for dead after attempting to cross; they were left stranded after traveling for days in the wrong direction, through mountains, desert and only a small amount of water along with a few personal items. The Devil’s Highway name was set out to one’s belief “bad medicine” (5). Even though the desert is an obstacle itself, there are still other physical
In James Molony’s book, A Bridge to Wisemans Cove, it is clear that the character of Carl is an overweight, unsecure teenage boy lacking self-esteem. In the beginning of the book, Carl is unsure of his purpose in the world, and in not having many friends he is lonely and his social skill are poor. In the middle of the book Carl’s new friends in Wattle beach start to uncover and shape his personality he becomes a bit more confident and starts to notice the smaller things in life. At the end of he book Carl now understands what love is and who loves him, he feels privileged as he has learnt about the small things that a mother would teach him, things that are not taught in school. Therefore it is clear the character of Carl changes at a steady
“The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure” (57). Two men that lived for their passion for adventure was Chris McCandless and Jay Moriarity. Chris McCandless was a young man who hitched hike to Alaska to explore and survive in the wilderness. Jay Moriarity was a young surfer who was determined to ride Mavericks, the largest waves. Chris's story was heard by a man named Jon Krakauer and Chris's story was developed and published into a novel for the world to hear, which got controversial feedback. Although both seem to come from very different lifestyles and had different pursuits for adventure, both share many qualities such as home life, preparation for goals, and the willingness to let people be there for them.
In the novel Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys, a teenage girl named Lina Vilkas is thrust into the Holocaust by the unforgiving NKVD. This novel tells the tale of the little-known side of the Holocaust that took place in the Soviet Union and Baltics. The book follows Lina through long weeks in cattle cars, many months of fear in the camps, and near-starvation and death in Siberia. Throughout the novel, Sepetys expresses two main themes: wisdom can be gained by observing ignorance, and traumatic moments lead to strength.
One of the Cold War’s most prominent is The Ugly American. Written in 1958, this book was a best seller, filled with different stories about why communism was winning and what must be done about it. The authors of the book The Ugly American used one main argument for its readers: “communism is a monolithic enemy whose fundamental values challenged those of the United States and whose ultimate goal was world domination.” (page 4) There stories were one of main forces driving people like Kennedy and Johnson to go and “save” Vietnam from
In the book 1984, Smith is trying to be an individual in a society that is ruled by Big Brother. as a consequence of him trying to be an individual, he is testing the rules of the party. The individual in an authoritarian society is forced to follow the rules and beliefs of the rest of the society.
It is a common experience: a woman dates a man who is rude to everyone except for her. He makes her feel special, but a few months later, he becomes an abusive, controlling boyfriend. Walter Younger from the play “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, while not an abusive person is a milder example of this phenomenon. He is the father in a large African American family, and lives with his mother, sister, wife, and young son. His father has recently died, and his mother, Lena, receives an enormous check from their life insurance. They need this money, as they live in a small house and need to move to a larger one, but Walter wants to invest the money into opening a liquor store instead. Although the play seems to revolve around him, Walter
Having a successful life in America is like a goal to many people who do not have the opportunity to make this goal a reality. Living the “American Dream” was a goal for many foreigners from as early as the 1950’s up until now. Sometimes, the perfect life for one person might not be the same perfect life for others. Abraham Lincoln said “Folks are usually as bout as happy as they make their minds up to be.” This quote means that happiness is not all about the circumstance of a situation rather than how one looks at it. Throughout the story of Revolutionary Road, happiness seems to quickly reveal itself to be the downfall of Frank and April Wheeler’s relationship. One of the many examples of Frank
Intelligent, compassionate, and inspirational are three words that perfectly describe the exceptional man that is Dr. Pedro J. Greer, Jr. His life’s work is defined by the medical help and attention he provided to the homeless and downtrodden citizens of Miami, Florida. In his autobiography, Waking Up in America, Dr. Greer recounts two events that charted a career course aimed at working with the poor, and giving hope to those marginalized in the community.
After earning his master’s degree and Ph. D from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Famous historian William Appleman Williams of Atlantic, Iowa, wrote the book, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy in response to the rampant changing things happening around him. Enraged, Williams’ addresses several points with foreign policy being the main one. He encompasses several themes throughout his book such as American capitalism, the failure of American liberalism, and the Open door notes. These themes help convey his view on the matters at hand, which for a lack of a better term was pissed. Quite frankly, Williams’ gets straight to the point without being around the bush with his extremely biased views by going into depth about America’s morbid foreign policy.
The authors want to show the reader how different cultures see Americans. It only takes one American for another culture to either judge or appreciate the people and cuture that comes from being an American. For example, any of the Sarkhanese people who had the chance to meet Joe Bing or Lou Sears would most likely think that all Americans are a bunch of scum. Sears and Bing give off the impression that Americans think they are the best of the best, that as an American they are entitled to everything in world. But if you were Deong (before he turned communist) and got to Know John Colvin or one of the Sarkhanese people that received help and information from Knox, then you would think that Americans were very generous people. Unlike Sears and Bing, Colvin and Knox have shown other cultures that Americans can be great people. It’s the first impression that counts, and that’s exactly the authors point of characterizing the characters the way they did. They wanted to show how a culture, such as the sahrkanese culture can come to a conclusion with the influence of just one
To make the character Winston Smith, the main protagonist from the book 1984, complex, George Orwell had to give his character multiple traits to keep Winston from being another boring, vague, and 2-dimensional character. Winston is a complex character because he undergoes emotional changes throughout the book, he has a variety of personality traits to drive the plot, and he has significant interactions with other characters throughout 1984.
In the book, All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, Quinn struggles with conflicting loyalties to both his convictions about the incident and his relationships to the people he loves. While he wants to maintain his relationships he can’t ignore the facts of the incident. His friends and family can’t understand why he is so adamant about standing up for Rashad. While some of his relationships are ultimately damaged by his actions, others survive and heal. He eventually learns that being a loyal friend does not necessarily mean always being in agreement and, in this novel, Quinn demonstrates loyalty to both his friends and his conviction even when the two are in conflict.
The Vietnam War is widely regarded as the lowest point in the history of U.S. foreign affairs. It mercilessly dragged an unwilling country on a fatal ride for twenty years, all while receiving low approval ratings and high funding. The Vietnam conflict served as an optimum environment for the virus of controversy. No one has more experience with controversy than Heinz Alfred Kissinger. He is the ultimate pragmatist, as embodying his philosophy of realpolitik, a diplomatic ideology based on utilitarianism rather than international ethical standards. When one’s political calling card downplays the role of ethics in diplomacy, that individual is bound to garner a high profile reputation. Kissinger himself has lamented the national predicament during this conflict—squeezed between the ultimate rock, his duty to keep peace, and hard place, his duty to act with the approval of the American people. This predicament was rooted in an omnipresent opposition to Communism, as was America’s role in the entire Cold War. Cold War politics were politics of fear. That fear drove competition, which bred a certain variety of leader – a logical, calculating politician with regard for nothing but his country’s success. To avoid an uncontrollable spread of Communism through the westernized world, some moral casualties were strewn about the wayside. However, the American public had no trouble rolling up their collective sleeves to back this forward-thinking activist. In more recent years, some
He begins more abstractly and then applies these principles to America. Specifically he says that power leads to a sense of superiority and is confused with virtue. Fulbright defines the “arrogance of power” as the “psychological need that nations seem to have in order to prove that they are bigger, better or stronger than other nations”. Clearly, these statements provide the premise of the book. As such, it explains Americas actions in all the situations exemplified in the book. After Fulbright analyzes patriotism in America, specifically when relating to the citizen, universities and the senate. For example, he describes the political climate at the time as opposed to descent and criticism. Despite this, he mentions the anti-war movement and describes both it being conducted and accepted as a sign of maturity and patriotism. That is to say, criticism is vital to democracy and consensus is a threat to freedom. Similarly, he describes how senate is in decline because of its unquestioning acceptance of the president’s request for war and as a result the decline in its Importance in the area of international relations and war. On account of this, Fulbright denounces the diminished importance of debate and dissent in the senate. In part two of the book, Fulbright analyzes revolutions and America’s perspective on them. According to Fulbright, America is an un-revolutionary society with