1 Plot
2 Major characters
3 Literary significance and reception
4 Allusions and references
5 Adaptations
6 References
7 External links
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Plot
Thomas Fowler is a British journalist in his fifties who has been covering the French war in Vietnam for over two years. He meets a young American idealist named Alden Pyle, who lives his life and forms his opinions based on the books written by York Harding, with no real experience in matters of south-east Asia at all. Harding 's theory is that Communism or colonialism are not the answer in foreign lands like Vietnam, but rather a "Third Force," usually a combination of traditions, works best. Pyle is young and idealistic. When Pyle and Fowler first meet, Pyle says he would be delighted if Fowler could help him understand more about the country. Fowler is much older, more realistic and more cynical.
Fowler has a live-in lover, Phuong, who is only twenty-years old and was a dancer at The Arc-en-Ciel (Rainbow) on Jaccareo Road, Cholon, until she met Fowler. Her sister
References: Notes ^ The Guardian 2 December 2002: "In life as in fiction, Greene 's taunts left Americans in a quiet fury" Retrieved 2011-06-27 ^ Michael Wynn: President Bush and The Quiet American Retrieved 2011-06-27 ^ World Socialist Web Site review of the 2002 film Retrieved 2011-06-27 ^ Quoted in "The Quiet American" by Joe Nordgren ^ Spectator Ab Extra ^ Amours de Voyage ^ Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"