Characterization is the key to The Quiet American, in that Greene, to develop his political concerns, uses Fowler to represent one set of ideas and Pyle another. However, that technique can be dangerous for a novel, because to develop his theme of personal involvement, the characters must be convincing as real people; the more flat, character-as-function-of-story characterization of The Power and the Glory (1940) would not be appropriate here. In general, Greene seems to succeed, particularly with Fowler. Although Fowler claims complete detachment, his love, or at least...
Source: Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction, ©2001 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 342 words.)
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