In “the spy who came in from the cold” a divided Germany, Alec Leamas is a British secret agent who becomes a double agent after losing an agent of his own. All goes according to plan until Leamas finds himself before a secret panel that seeks to expose him as a British spy. Leamas personal and professional loyalties start to come into play as he realizes that nothing is how it seems. The novel explores the danger of the cold war during that era. The novel displays a larger number of emotions throughout the book; from perspire fear to losing of a loved one. Throughout the book you see the storyline through Alec Leamas (a commander), who is trying to come home from the cold war for good but his job has other plans for him.
John Le Carre doesn't pick sides when it comes to one sides being more superior to the other. Carre's presents both sides as being equal. He talks about the intelligences of both western and eastern nations and expresses how both nations possess the same expedient amorality
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when it comes to national security. However, in the story Carre shows that the eastern nations such as eastern Germany are a little more advanced than the western nations. For example, East Germany was able to live their live without any worries but western Germany didn’t have the same opportunity as eastern Germany. Plus Leamas is able to pick a series of low level jobs after the scandal in East Germany. Even though the jobs he acquired weren’t the best it still shows it not that hard to find work in eastern Germany. The message about the cold war Carres tell us is that if we today were in the cold war that we would experience events that would change our lives forever, whether it’s for the good or the bad. In leamas case he experienced the good and the bad during this time. Leama character plans to end his lengthy career as an agent but he can’t just up and leaver during the of war which is one of the flaws of being in the position he was (his job occupation). Leama lose one of his agents and the love of his life with in a couple months apart but is still able to continue with life. In a time that Leama was in he had no choice but keep moving forward. In my opinion, I feel another message that Carrie presents to us about the cold war is that it will help an individual grow which one is able is to tell threw out the book. Chapter 2 “The Circus” Leama loses on of his special agent during the war. One is able to see how much Leama is able to grow in the chapter. Even though losing one of agents was a tragic event he (Leama) didn’t let that bring him down, he just had to become a double agent at that point. Another example of where the lead character is in chapter 4 “Liz”. Liz and Leama relationship starts off as a genuine friendship but is only when he starts staying at her apartment when things get serious. One night Leama visited Liz’s apartment she confessed to him that she was indeed a communist which shocked him. However proceeding threw the chapter one is able to witness how his and Liz relationship is on and off. Leama isn’t trying to involve people he cares about into his life at this moment due to the danger missions he was assigned. The novel is set during this compelling, apprehensive and dangerous point in time when the Cold War was at its highest peak.
“The Spy who came in from the cold” is a novel that can many individual who are curious what it was to be like a cold war or a war period a satisfying picture of what it was like. It show you the good and the bad of being in war, it also shows some sacrifices one who have to make during the time of war. Even though Leama had time to see a female he knew he couldn’t purse their relationship because of the danger she would be in. Leama worked for the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service for about 10 years (1950s-1960s). Le Carre’ being a former MI-6 officer, provides a precious outlook for his story-telling. The fact that Carre actually experience what he did made the novel that much better. Newsweek stated “Le Carres is simply the world’s greatest fictional spymaster” which is a pretty big accomplishment. I personally enjoy the
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The American Revolution saw the rise of the American spy, and the father of these spies was George Washington, commander in Chief of the Continental Army. The siege of New York demonstrated the importance and dire need for an intelligence to General Washington. Unfortunately, the difficulty, at least initially, lay with finding people willing and able to serve in this manner.
During the late nineteen forties, a new anti-Communistic chase was in full holler, this being the one of the most active Cold War fronts at home. Many panic-stricken citizens feared that Communist spies were undermining the government and treacherously misdirecting foreign policy. The attorney general planned a list of ninety supposedly disloyal organizations, none of which was given the right to prove its loyalty to the United States. The Loyalty Review Board investigated more than three million employees that caused a nation wide security conscious. Later, individual states began ferreting out Communist spies in their area. Now, Americans cannot continue to enjoy traditional freedoms in the face of a ruthless international conspiracy known as the Soviet Communism. In 1949, eleven accused Communists were brought before a New York jury for abusing the Smith Act of 1940, which prohibited conspiring to teach the violent overthrow of the government. The eleven Communist leaders were convicted and sentenced to prison.
Despite being celebrated for its industrial achievements, the very foundation by which society was predicated on in the Gilded Age crumbled as labor unrest grew. This sense of discontent on the part of laborers is demonstrated through the Haymarket Affair of 1866. Among those tried for the crime was August Spies, who in his “Address of August Spies,” compromises his own life by persistently undermining the legitimacy of the State to emphasize the determination of the collective for which he views himself as a “representative.” In his attempt to illuminate the injustices of the State and foreshadow the unremitting turmoil that will emerge with his murder, Spies simultaneously showcases the divisions within society at the time. Consequently, because it is a product of its time period, the “Address of August Spies” can be used not only as a means of understanding the Haymarket Affair but the dynamics of society as a whole.
This reader’s rating for this book is average. It is a very well written book but it may not appeal to some people. If the reader was familiar with the war then this would be a wonderful book to read. This reader thought it was interesting but not as enthralling as it should be. The book was mainly made out of quotes or dialogue from the men in the war. This was a very different way of writing but it was interesting. Many of the veterans had interesting stories to tell and how it felt like to be in the war. Overall it was a book to consider if you’re into war stories.
The Cold War and post Cold War eras have brought with them many interesting aspects. New technologies initially meant for mass destruction filter down into the civilian world, making current lives easier. One example of this is the anti-lock braking systems of today’s cars. Originally designed to slow fighter-planes on landing without skidding, these systems make it safer for parents to take their children on vacation. One less noted advancement the eras brought is a considerable amount of exciting and forewarning fiction. While most authors chose to warn of nuclear and post nuclear holocaust, one significant author chose a different approach. Tom Clancy chose to write of conventional warfare and sometimes unconventional enemies. Between his novel Red Storm Rising and Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy makes evident the changing face of America’s enemies and threats, while staying true to issues that keep people interested in his books.
It is difficult for them to hope to succeed in an area where so many of them have failed. The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have.
In doing so, Le Carre moves from the action-filled and glamorous world created by blockbusters such as James Bond, and goes deeper into the ramifications of political ideologies such as the ends justifies the means. With the Cold War a political battle significantly between the US and the USSR, society was plagued with the presence of competition between their two political doctrines - democracy and communism, east and west. Le Carre explores this oppositional divide though the extended metaphor of binary opposites hot and cold. The cyclical form of the novel provides a physical example of the metaphor as the novel begins and ends at the Berlin Wall - the tangible symbol for the divide between east and west. Furthermore, protagonist Leamas is portrayed as a “prisoner” to the ideologies that encompass his work. Tough-minded and cynical, the devotion Leamas gives to his work has allowed him block out the moral and ethical questions raised by his work. As Liz questions his strong position, Leamas becomes defensive and justifies his morals are based on rationality - “I believe an eleven bus will take me to Hammersmith. I don’t believe it’s driven by Father Christmas”. This characterises Leamas as a cold character as his loyalty to his work prevents him from developing any ethical considerations or deep connections to others such as Liz. It is not until a
When choosing an author for my paper, I chose international suspense because I am very interested in foreign relations and the technology of modern day war. I have read stories by Edgar Allen Poe, with suspense and vivid imagery, which reminded me of Clancy's work. I decided to choose Tom Clancy because of his talent to weave such realistic tales of international suspense. Clancy creates the scenes in his books with such detail, it makes the reader feel like he/she is there. My first choice for this paper was Dr. Suess, but because he has passed away, I had to keep looking. I knew very little information about my author before writing this paper. I had read two of his books, but had no real knowledge of his personal life or past history. Tom Clancy, a successful American author of international suspense, has captured his love of military and technology and profitably employed it in the books he writes.
Griffin explores Heinrich Himmler and the secrets that are hidden within him. Throughout his childhood Himmler’s secrets and thoughts were hidden, overshadowed by a mask or barrier formed by his upbringing and culture.
...ut yourself in the narrator’s perspective. Also, I learned a lot about the culture and time period. The story was taking place in Afghanistan and the United States, and it is interesting to compare both cultures. The only downfall of the novel is the ending. The ending did not close all of the actions occurring. Overall, I would recommend this novel to any reader.
Furthermore, During the Cold War, there was scandals and secrecy developing and ‘Secrecy- the American experience’ by Daniel Patrick Moynihan presents the secrecy that was going on during in American governments as was seen during Reagans Presidency. It provides a view of how it shaped American foreign policy. However, it did not provide an insiders of the government but a historical appraisal of the culture of secrecy.
Firstly, the theme of hypocrisy is integrated in both works for the purpose of portraying man’s staggering and absurd potential for evil. In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the Europeans state that their objectives in Africa are to trade with the natives and immerse them with the light of civilization. However, their actions fail to reflect their stated motives since the Europeans take the ivory from the natives by force and they treat them inhumanely. Not to mention that the Europeans constantly refer to natives as objects such as machinery as well as suppress and eradicate them at any opportunity. Ultimately, the Europeans utilize their false words as a civilized veneer that masks their capability of being evil and savage. For instance, in Africa, Marlow states that he has familiarized himself “…with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.” (pg. 81). Symbolically, the colonists are described as the devil mentioned above because they treat the natives with brutality even though their stated intentions are pure. Also, the colonists are foolish and tactless for they are unaware that their actions expose the evilness behind their actions. Similarly, in Coppola’s work, the United Sates affirms that they fight in the name of freedom and democracy, yet they commit senseless and violent killings. In reality, their ulterior motives were to promote capitalism and become a dominant military world power. Furthermore, the U.S. focuses on their attention on murdering their own operative instead of attempting to finish the war, which is of a higher priority when lives are at stake. Additionally, the U.S. troops are strangers in Vietnam, but they act as if posses the foreign land since they seize territory and commit murder without being incited.
As we entered the new millennium, Edward Said’s article, “The Clash of Ignorance”, appeared in the October 22 edition of The Nation, in 2001. His paper was a critical response to my thesis which first appeared in 1993, “The Clash of Civilizations?”. The following years saw many adopting his argument as a valid counter to my thesis. However, I believe that his argument builds more to the notion of the clash of civilizations stated in my paper, strengthening it, rather than weakening it. In this paper, I will discuss and address the arguments that he had put forward.
Throughout contemporary history we see that movies and pop culture have the power to influence opinion and beliefs. During the Cold War the movies and the media was a means used to spread propaganda regarding the war. Individuals and directors used the movies they made to convey a message they wanted Americans to hear. At this time, it was used to garner support for the anti-communist agenda and to start conversations about the Cold War and the actions the government was taking to fight it. Although these two movies may seem conflicting, it reflects the mixed feelings Americans had about the Cold War.
After the death of his father, Pavel, who is only a teenaged boy, joins the factory and there he learns the collective power of the proletariat. He discovers that the working class is the real agent of change in society. That leads him to a series of study circles and book-reading sessions in which like-minded, socialist workers actively take part. The studious, caring and politically aware person Pavel becomes a hero of the revolutionary circle.