The Quiet American Impact On Society
Society and the Impact of Social Class In the world today, social stratification is the main reason for inequalities in economic, social, political and ideological dimensions. It is a system whereby people rank and evaluate categories of people in a hierarchy of social classes. This causes negative effects on society because one social class is rewarded with more wealth, authority, power and prestige. The Quiet American, a novel written in 1955 by British writer Graham Greene, demonstrates the negative effects of social class on society. The story is set in Saigon, a large city in Vietnam, at the end of the first Indochina war and is told from the point of view of a British journalist, Thomas Fowler. In its braiding together of a political
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Pyle is an upperclass American man who believes Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman who represents the lower class and Vietnamese as a whole, is a delicate flower to be protected. Pyle sees love as the way it is presented in the books. He believes that everything in life is planned out a specific way and that he has to follow the rules. In the novel, Pyle makes a reference to how he can tell Phuong his blood group in order to be certain they can have children together. Fowler responds, “Is that how you make love in America- figures of income and blood-group?” (Greene 69) Pyle believes that it is old fashioned and that it is what is right in America or his upper class society. “Tell her I don’t expect her to love me right away. That will come in time, but tell her what I offer is security and respect” (Greene 70). In saying that, Pyle shows how his upper class society would effect a lower class citizen. He can offer her security because that is what she needs being in the lower class. She would not have the money or the knowledge to protect herself. That is why Pyle believes he should take her under his wing. With that being said, he is doing this for all the wrong reasons, showing how there are negative effects on society when there is a separation of social class. Fowler also demonstrates these negative effects through his relationship with
Pyle is an upperclass American man who believes Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman who represents the lower class and Vietnamese as a whole, is a delicate flower to be protected. Pyle sees love as the way it is presented in the books. He believes that everything in life is planned out a specific way and that he has to follow the rules. In the novel, Pyle makes a reference to how he can tell Phuong his blood group in order to be certain they can have children together. Fowler responds, “Is that how you make love in America- figures of income and blood-group?” (Greene 69) Pyle believes that it is old fashioned and that it is what is right in America or his upper class society. “Tell her I don’t expect her to love me right away. That will come in time, but tell her what I offer is security and respect” (Greene 70). In saying that, Pyle shows how his upper class society would effect a lower class citizen. He can offer her security because that is what she needs being in the lower class. She would not have the money or the knowledge to protect herself. That is why Pyle believes he should take her under his wing. With that being said, he is doing this for all the wrong reasons, showing how there are negative effects on society when there is a separation of social class. Fowler also demonstrates these negative effects through his relationship with