Quiet American, Station 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13

Station 8

Fowler and His Women

Work on your own.

Answer the following questions regarding Fowler’s attitude towards women as shown in Part II, Chapter 3/1 (pp. 125–133). Include quotations to support your interpretation.

Take notes.

1. Describe Fowler’s behaviour towards Phuong.

2. Why does Fowler’s wife refuse to divorce him?

3. Do you think Fowler’s wife is right in refusing the divorce? Discuss.

Be prepared to present your findings to the rest of the class.

Station 10

An Unpatriotic Film?

Work with two to four partners.

1. Read the article “The Quiet American: An Unpatriotic Film?” by James Borton and summarize it briefly.

2. Discuss the following questions in your group. Take notes.

a. Why was the release of the movie The Quiet American postponed?

b. According to the novel, what role did the US play in Vietnam? Think of Fowler’s comment about Pyle: “I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused.”

c. What is your opinion on the USA as “the world’s superpower” (ll. 37–38) today? In what ways are the topics of the novel, “terrorism, conflict, and the abuses and the use of US power” (l. 2), still valid for the USA today?

Be prepared to present your results in a short talk.

Station 11

Nations and Characters

Answer the following questions individually or with a partner. 

1. Analyse the relationship of the three main characters in the novel.

a. What do the characters think about each other (Fowler about Phuong and Pyle, Pyle about Fowler and Phuong, Phuong about Fowler and Pyle)?

b. Describe the relationship between Fowler and Pyle, Fowler and Phuong, Pyle and Phuong.

2. How accurate is it to say that Fowler represents Europe, Pyle the USA and Phuong Vietnam?

3. “Democracy was another subject of his – he had pronounced and aggravating views on what the United States was doing for the world,” Fowler says of Pyle. Fowler thinks Pyle – and the United States – is wrong to believe that all nations would benefit from the introduction of democracy through the USA. Who is right, Fowler or Pyle, or both?

4. How much does a nation have to understand another nation in order to be able to help it (for instance, in its struggle for independence or in a civil war)? What does Fowler think understanding requires? What about Pyle? 

Take notes.

Station 12

Tension Between the Protagonists

With a partner, work on the following task.

Analyse the development of tension between the three main characters. 

In the diagram on the worksheet, indicate the development of tension by drawing a graph: enter points for all important events of the plot and label them. 

Mark the climax.

Be prepared to compare your diagram with that of your fellow students and to explain the differences.

Station 13

Going to the Movies

Watch the movie The Quiet American and read pp. 178–181 of the novel again. Then compare this scene with the corresponding scene in the movie. Work on the following tasks in groups of three.

1. Compare the differences between Pyle’s behaviour in the novel and in the movie. What do we learn about him? Support your argument with quotes from the text and detailed references to the movie respectively.

2. Why do you think the director of the movie changed this scene?

Take notes.