Innocence in The Quiet American by Graham Greene from Vietnam. Sometimes Greene sees innocent people as helpless victims of the devastation caused by others, such as the soldiers killed when Fowler and Pyle take shelter in their tower. But more often he regards innocence as a kind of pre-moral condition. There are frequent references to ignorance of Alden Pyle's innocent character. An extremely idealistic and naive American, Pyle represents the innocence of the inexperienced who are exposed too early in life to a situation as concrete as war on a battlefield. Pyle's innocence is manifested through his ruinous idealism which culminates in his murder, his work for General Thé, and Pyle's personification of America as an international power. Innocence is seen as dangerous because it prevents Pyle from seeing how he could hurt others and how he does it. . Idealism is a form of innocence, but it is distinguished by the fact that it is capable of causing much more damage to society. It is used to justify extreme actions, just for fun. Pyle is clearly the representation of idealism, and Greene goes on to write that there is no place for idealism in war. It's selfish and impractical; nothing in the world is ideal and is not likely to become so. The Quiet American seems unusual in that it presents an argument against innocence, a characteristic generally considered virtuous. Idealists find themselves in a particularly difficult situation because the nature of their principles exempts them from blame for the destruction they certainly cause, which is why it is described as "a kind of madness." (163) Through Fo...... middle of paper ......center of an American in order to show the imperceptibility of Americans towards an unknown culture on the other side of the planet and the absurdity of intervention in general. The character of the young American Alden Pyle is naive and convinced of the rightness of his actions, even if in reality he causes a tragedy. His innocence poses a problem in that his good intentions, based on the simplistic belief that the world can be fixed and things can be fixed, only succeed in killing people. On the terrain of war, the only important issue is survival, not idealization. It's about fighting to live and maintain control on the battlefield. Therefore, in this story, innocence is simply a very dangerous thing to hold on to. Ultimately, Fowler blames innocence alone for Pyle's disappearance, and he speaks of innocence as if it were a curse and not a strength..

Essay / Innocence in The Quiet American by Graham Greene from Vietnam. Sometimes Greene sees innocent people as helpless victims of the devastation caused by others, such as the soldiers killed when Fowler and Pyle take shelter in their tower. But more often he regards innocence as a kind of pre-moral condition. There are frequent references to ignorance of Alden Pyle's innocent character. An extremely idealistic and naive American, Pyle represents the innocence of the inexperienced who are exposed too early in life to a situation as concrete as war on a battlefield. Pyle's innocence is manifested through his ruinous idealism which culminates in his murder, his work for General Thé, and Pyle's personification of America as an international power. Innocence is seen as dangerous because it prevents Pyle from seeing how he could hurt others and how he does it. . Idealism is a form of innocence, but it is distinguished by the fact that it is capable of causing much more damage to society. It is used to justify extreme actions, just for fun. Pyle is clearly the representation of idealism, and Greene goes on to write that there is no place for idealism in war. It's selfish and impractical; nothing in the world is ideal and is not likely to become so. The Quiet American seems unusual in that it presents an argument against innocence, a characteristic generally considered virtuous. Idealists find themselves in a particularly difficult situation because the nature of their principles exempts them from blame for the destruction they certainly cause, which is why it is described as "a kind of madness." (163) Through Fo...... middle of paper ......center of an American in order to show the imperceptibility of Americans towards an unknown culture on the other side of the planet and the absurdity of intervention in general. The character of the young American Alden Pyle is naive and convinced of the rightness of his actions, even if in reality he causes a tragedy. His innocence poses a problem in that his good intentions, based on the simplistic belief that the world can be fixed and things can be fixed, only succeed in killing people. On the terrain of war, the only important issue is survival, not idealization. It's about fighting to live and maintain control on the battlefield. Therefore, in this story, innocence is simply a very dangerous thing to hold on to. Ultimately, Fowler blames innocence alone for Pyle's disappearance, and he speaks of innocence as if it were a curse and not a strength..

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