The Ugly American

“It is to our advantage to have him remain here.”

Krupitzyn reports back to Russia that Sears is so bumbling and arrogant with the natives that he can be viewed as a Soviet asset. Simply by being himself, Sears is helping the Communists fight against the American cause. The difference between Krupitzyn’s methodical approach to long-term solutions and Sears’s haphazard focus on cocktail parties and newspaper cartoons symbolizes the difference between the Soviet and American approach in Southeast Asia. 

“This was, he was sure, the first time that these men had ever been told by a white man that a big and important decision was entirely their own … and would be followed by the white man.”

Finian tells his eight partners that he will abide by their decision and work with them toward whatever goal they choose. Mistrust of whites is a common theme in the book. The cynicism of the natives is never presented as unfounded, as there are many examples in the novel of untrustworthy whites. The loyalty that Finian’s men show to him is not a result of any great effort on his part; he has simply treated the Burmese as equals. 

“‘There hasn’t been an Asian at one of his parties for two years. At his first party he had only liquor, when Buddhists and Moslems drink only fruit juice or water or milk. And the word got around.’”

Ruth Jyoti refuses to admire Joe Bing, despite Rivers’s claims that everyone loves him. One of the problems facing Americans in Southeast Asia is the need to bond with the natives, but Joe Bing’s cultural insensitivity is evident in his parties. As Jyoti says, Joe Bing’s reputation grows. She doesn’t understand why the Americans insist that everyone loves him, when it is evident that none of the Asians who have encountered him do.

“‘We don’t expect you to know the native language. Translators are a dime a dozen overseas. And besides, it’s better to make the Asians learn English.’”

Joe Bing speaks to prospective secretaries at the recruitment meeting for overseas employment. His attitude regarding the native language reflects that of the administration. Learning to better assimilate with the natives is not expected from anyone, despite its efficacy. In stating that Asians are better off learning English, Joe Bing is another example of the white superiority shown by many characters in the book.

“He wrote a long, careful report to the State Department pointing out the gains which had been made in Sarkhan during his tenure in that country. He pointed out that ‘there are always those who pick away at sound policies or tend to exaggerate normal internal political frictions. Sarkhan is more firmly than ever on the side of America.’”

Prior to leaving Sarkhan, Sears writes a false report leaving a record of what he considers his victories in the country. He is insecure, knowing that his words do not reflect public sentiment or perception toward him. If someone reads the report and believes that relations between Sarkhan and America continue to improve, it could hinder the process of real and necessary change.

“MacWhite knew that all of his careful work, his spending of millions of dollars, his cunning strategy, were all wasted. He knew that he, the Honorable Gilbert MacWhite, had made a terrible mistake. Somewhere in his carefully trained mind, in his rigorous background, in his missionary zeal, there was a flaw. It hit him very hard. Beneath the humility he had always, consciously, kept on the surface, and which he had always believed in, not only as a requirement of the social human, not only as a prerequisite of the receptive mind, but also as a reality of himself—beneath that humility there had been a rigid core of ego which had permitted him to place a fatal amount of faith in his own, unsupported judgment.”

MacWhite has always prided himself on being vigilant and methodical. When he is shown that his servants have been spying on him, he is not defensive. He admits his mistake and commits to learning more about the Asian mindset in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. MacWhite’s ability to self-scrutinize and adapt accordingly is part of what makes him a potentially great Ambassador. 

“‘Since December of 1956 the French have been fighting a war which has been maneuvered by the Communists precisely along the lines which Mao outlined in this pamphlet. You are a military man—you will please excuse my bluntness—but you made every mistake Mao wanted you to. You ignored his every lesson for fighting on this type of terrain. You neglected to get the political and economic cooperation of the Vietnamese, even though Mao proved long ago that Asians will not fight otherwise.’”

MacWhite tells Monet why the French Legion continues to lose its skirmishes with the Viet Cong. Monet’s adherence to traditional military tactics has not served him well in Asia because the enemy is not fighting with traditional methods. Studying a foreign military mind is unpalatable to Monet, who comes from a tradition in which Napoleon’s strategic abilities are revered. However, he sees the sense in it and reads Mao’s book in hopes that he can stop losing men who never even see their enemy. Monet’s humility leads to their first victory.

“‘Poor America. It took the British a hundred years to lose their prestige in Asia. America has managed to lose hers in ten years.’”

U Maung Swe tells his dinner companion what would be necessary for America to regain a positive perception in Asia. Uncouth, ignorant politicians like Sears make it difficult for Asians to respect them or to welcome the American presence in the region. Worse, U Maung Swe knows that Americans do not do this intentionally. Rather, something about them changes when they leave America, lose their manners, and look down upon their new neighbors. 

“Tex had the feeling that he was looking at people who were fighting a war that should have taken place three hundred years before. They looked harmless and innocent, indeed they looked almost comical. But these were the men whom he and Monet had been fighting for months, and whom they had defeated only once.”

After the French abandon Hanoi, Monet and Tex see their enemy for the first time. The men entering the city look like peasants. Three of them have homemade rifles constructed from pipes. Tex realizes that the war cannot be won if Americans continue to rely on their own military might and refuse to learn from the tactics of the Viet Cong. They may look comical and harmless, but they have driven a great military power out of Hanoi. 

“The steam from a pot of good soup is its best advertisement.”

U Maung Swe tells the story of the Martins who set up a canning operation in Burma and taught everyone how to can vegetables. They lived modestly and had no need of publicity. Word of their efforts and intentions spread, and they were soon beloved by the people because they were only interested in helping, not in improving their own lives. 

“‘When we’ve licked the basic problems we can move on to grander projects. But we have to start with the little things which are Sarkhanese.’”

U Maung Swe tells MacWhite that the Americans are focusing on the wrong things. They cannot expect gratitude for solutions to problems that the Sarkhanese do not want or ask them to solve. As an example, U Maung Swe tells him about Colvin and his idea with the milk business. Fresh milk would be of greater, more immediate benefit than new roads or dams.

“The anger, which in Cambodia had seemed so sure and honest a weapon, in his suite on the Liberté, seemed somehow almost ridiculous.”

Knox spends most of his trip to Cambodia in a state of righteous anger. He is appalled by how naïve and ignorant most officials are of the realities on the ground. Once he is wined and dined on his return trip, which is prolonged by several exciting detours, Knox forgets the source of his anger. People who are not there can’t understand the realities of the situation in Southeast Asia, and these far away people make the most important decisions about the war.

“Every person and every nation has a key which will open their hearts. If you use the right key, you can maneuver any person or any nation any way you want.”

Colonel Hillandale explains his reasons for learning palmistry. His understanding of the people he lives among is nuanced and vast. This is only true because he goes to great lengths to study and understand the people and culture that surround him. Palmistry is scoffed at by men like Swift, but Colonel Hillandale’s skill with the art produces greater results with the Prime Minister than anything else that has been tried by people who do not care about better understanding the natives.

“‘Nothing is a fake if people believe in it.’”

As Swift complains to MacWhite about Colonel Hillandale’s palmistry, MacWhite reminds him that belief is powerful. Colonel Hillandale knows this, which is part of his success. If they focus on what is true to them, and not to the Asians, the Americans will not be able to understand them or make great progress. MacWhite knows that he must treat certain realities seriously, even if he cannot believe in them. 

“‘And don’t kid yourself, gentlemen; unless you feel they’re equals and act on that feeling, they’ll never respond. I’ve seen it happen too many times. Make someone feel inferior in a negotiating situation, and he’ll be the toughest guy around the table. Gentlemen, that is where I stand, and that is the way I will run my delegation.’”

Solomon Asch tells the American and English delegates that they have to treat the Asians as equals if they are going to succeed with the conference on thermonuclear weapons. The Sarkhanese resistance to change is logical given Asch’s words about the consequences of feeling inferior. The Americans have done little but make them feel inferior at every opportunity. 

“‘Men [who] work with their hands and muscles understand one another.’”

Jeepo tells the village elders that they are wrong to mistrust Atkins. Even though they come from different cultures, Jeepo understands that Atkins is an honest man who only wants to help. Atkins has come to them voluntarily to help, and Jeepo worries that if they mistrust him, they will be treating the American the way that most Americans treat them. 

“‘It is just that old people become bent. That’s the natural thing which happens to older people.’”

Emma talks with an old woman in Chang ‘Dong. The woman is unaware that the angle at which she sweeps has caused her bent back. Because she has never wondered about the cause of her ailment, it has never occurred to her that there might be a solution. It takes Emma’s fresh perspective to ask a new question, eventually leading her to develop the long-handled brooms made from reeds.

“You will be happy to know that today there are few bent backs in the village of Chang ‘Dong. Today the backs of our old people are straight and firm. No longer are their bodies painful during the months of the monsoon.”

Emma receives a letter from the leader of Chang ‘Dong, four years after leaving. Her small alteration to the brooms has led to the easing of physical pain and a method of sweeping that the adults will be able to teach to the next generation. Emma’s intervention was small but produced meaningful results, and it was done with a sense of curiosity and helpfulness. 

“‘Dr. Barre, this is the first time you have ever suffered through the visit of a politician, and you’re going to find it a trying time. Politicians aren’t interested in the reality of things; they’re only interested in getting votes and occasionally making some Boy Scout points for themselves by proposing a big cut in our foreign aid budget.’”

The American Ambassador to Vietnam, Alexander Gray, prepares Dr. Barre for Brown’s visit. The purpose of the visit is ostensibly one of intelligence gathering, but the ambassador knows that Brown’s priorities lie more in the direction of public relations for himself. Brown is coming to curry favor for his own legislative projects in America, and he may simultaneously find a reason to cut American aid to Asia in the process.

“He had just realized that in all of the time in both Saigon and Hanoi, he had talked to only two natives, and to only three military officers below the rank of general—two of them had been drunk. For a moment he distrusted his impressions of the visit.”

On the way back to America, Brown realizes that he did not speak to enough people to consider his mission a fact-finding success. He spoke mostly through translators, and Monet and Tex’s intoxication tainted his conversation with them. Weeks later, he will report on the Senate floor with full confidence in his report, even though his trip was a waste as far as reconnaissance was concerned.

“The United States must either prepare itself to win these many tiny conflicts, which are the substance of competitive coexistence, or go down in defeat.”

MacWhite writes to the Secretary of State that the government should not dismiss the examples of the Ragtime Kid, Atkins, and the Martins as unimportant. If America cannot come to see the war as a series of small conflicts, rather than a series of grand battles in which a foe must be crushed, it will lose. This would require a change in military culture in which fighting and might must be seen as peripheral assets to diplomacy and tact.

“I request that every American (and his dependents) sent to Sarkhan be required to be able to both read and speak Sarkhanese.”

MacWhite emphasizes the importance of communication between the Sarkhanese and the Americans. Other than Atkins, the people in the novel who have the most success are fluent in the native language. Relying on translators to convey concepts and idioms that may not even exist in Sarkhanese reduces the flow of information and increases the risk of errors and misunderstandings.

“If we cannot get Americans overseas who are trained, self-sacrificing, and dedicated, then we will continue losing in Asia. The Russians will win without firing a shot, and the only choice open to us will be to become the aggressor with thermonuclear weapons.”

In MacWhite’s final report, he is pessimistic about America’s chances of winning the Cold War unless they change their approach. He requests only selflessness, dedication, and sensitivity to the Sarkhanese, weapons that seem small in the context of a military campaign. If Americans do not find a way to behave more like the Atkinses and Martins, they may lose a war that could require a nuclear response.