Book Analysis: The Ugly American

TA: Muiris MacGiollabhuí

Section: Tuesday: 8:30 AM

Ugly Americans

At the height of the cold war two super powers, the Soviet Union and America were competing for natural resources in third world countries, Southeast Asia. As a result, political power and diplomacy with the locals was very important. The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick depicts interrelating stories in Southeast Asia and mainly in a fictional place called Sarkhan. The novel is based around the conflict that the United States is failing to turn communism in Southeast Asia, because the diplomats sent are not willing to learn to speak Sarkhanese, to learn their culture, and connect with the locals. Throughout the chapters in the novel the reader encounters

He was a consultant for constructing dams and roads in Southeast Asia, but he thought that producing goods that the locals can make and use are more important. Therefore, ambassador MacWhite, the successor of Louis Sears who is more educated in the history and culture of Sarkhan, asked Atkins to go to Sarkhan. He then invented a water pump that helped the locals and in turned out to be a big business. This was a first great progress towards American diplomacy. Atkins water pump made progress towards having the Sarkhan people believe in the US. MacWhite saw things that had to be changed in the way the United States handled diplomatic relationships. As a result, when asking the secretary of state for permission, he didn’t get the permission to act in Sarkhan, consequently; he resigned as ambassador. This shows the narrow vision of the American government at that time. They didn’t except any changes and believed that going big, building military roads and bridges will gain support. This is why America was ugly. MacWhite stated in his letter to the secretary of state, “ the little things we do must be moral acts and they must be done in the real interest of the peoples whose friendship we need – not just in the interest of propaganda” (267). I completely agree with what MacWhite suggested in this sentence. He has realized that doing large-scale things for the people of Sarkhan isn’t helping. The locals do not care about big things, they care about how they are treated. If the American diplomats trying to save them from communism are going to social events, and don’t speak their language, the Sarkhan people will not support