The Quiet American

The narrative goes back in time to the first meeting between Fowler and Pyle. In the café at the Continental Hotel, Pyle asks a question about York Harding. Fowler has not read the books written by this American scholar; he chides Pyle for relying on out-of-date books to learn about Vietnam rather than actually experiencing the culture. Pyle asks Fowler to tell him about the political situation in the country. Fowler explains that the Vietnamese communists are fighting the colonial French troops for independence. General Thé, the leader of a separate military, has gone into hiding and wages a fight against both the French Army and the communist faction. Currently, the French Army holds the northern part of the country. According to the books Pyle has read, Vietnam needs a Third Force that is separate from the colonialists or the communists, so Thé intrigues him. Fowler leaves the hotel for his daily walk. He thinks about Pyle’s lack of experience, comparing Pyle’s arrival in Vietnam to his own.

In the present moment, Fowler talks to Phuong in the aftermath of Pyle’s death. At his suggestion, she tries to collect her possessions from Pyle’s apartment but is stopped by the police. Fowler finds Vigot, who talks about the suspects in the case. Vigot admits that he is not overly concerned about finding the assassins, as “there are thousands killed every year” (27). Fowler collects Phuong’s possessions, insisting again to Vigot that he knows nothing about Pyle’s death. He studies Pyle’s academic books and notices that Pyle’s dog is missing. Vigot suggests that the communists might have killed Pyle, “perhaps the beginning of a campaign against American aid” (29). Vigot then becomes forceful and threatens to cancel Fowler’s exit visa. Fowler calls Vigot’s bluff; he does not want to leave Vietnam.

They are interrupted by an American economic attaché named Joe. Overweight, blustering, and disheveled, Joe reveals that he has alerted Pyle’s family that Pyle died a “soldier’s death in cause of Democracy” (31). When Fowler makes a joke about an economic attaché being treated as a soldier, Joe admits that Pyle’s duties extend beyond the remit of a typical economic attaché. Joe asks for more information, but Fowler is annoyed. He says that Pyle was killed by his own naivety and names Pyle’s affair with Phuong as an example of his indiscretions. Pointing Joe in Vigot’s direction, Fowler leaves.

The narrative goes back in time to the night when Pyle and Phuong first met. Fowler and Phuong are at the Continental Hotel together, and Pyle invites them to sit with him, Joe, and a man named Bill Granger. Joe asks Granger, an American correspondent who recently attended a Hanoi press conference, whether the Viet Minh have taken a strategically important town named Phat Diem and “burned the cathedral, chased out the bishop” (37). Granger has no interest in talking about politics. He announces his plan to go to a brothel, the House of Five Hundred Girls, and the rest of the company—save for Joe and a drunk Frenchman nicknamed Mick—travel with him to a nearby restaurant called Chalet.

Pyle rides in a rickshaw with Granger, and when Fowler searches for him, he finds him surrounded by women, seemingly horrified. Fowler smirks to himself, believing that Pyle is sexually inexperienced. He retrieves Pyle and takes him into Chalet to join Phuong. As Pyle talks to Phuong, Fowler remembers how he met her. He admired how she declined the attentions of a very forward American. After four months of “a long and frustrating courtship” and although Fowler was (and still is) married (45), he and Phuong began a sexual relationship.

At Chalet, Pyle and Phuong share a dance. They are joined by Phuong’s protective sister, Miss Hei, who is impressed by Pyle’s polite, formal attitude. She invites him to visit the house that she shares with her sister to keep them company while Fowler is away in the north of the country.

Later, Fowler watches Pyle and Phuong share another dance. He debates whether he should travel to Phat Diem to report on the story. The trip will be dangerous, but Fowler has long held a practical view of death as “the only absolute value in [his] world” (50). When their dance is over, Pyle and Phuong return to the table. A cabaret show begins, and Pyle seems shocked by the sexual nature of the show. He laughs at the jokes even though he does not understand French. When a group of female impersonators takes to the stage, Pyle tells Fowler that the act is not appropriate for Phuong to see and suggests that they leave.

Several days after the dinner at Chalet, Fowler is in Phat Diem. He investigates rumors about the Viet Minh’s attack and visits the cathedral. According to rumors, the Viet Minh snuck into the town amid a church festival in the name of Our Lady of Fatima. They sacked the town over four days, but the French have driven them back. Refugees from the town gather in the cathedral. The bishop fears that they do not have enough food and medicine. Journalists have been barred from reporting on the attack, which is a big loss for the French. Fowler explores Phat Diem and sees two soldiers and a rotting corpse. With a company of European troops, he finds a canal “full of bodies” (60) and, on the other side, empty farmhouses. When someone shoots a gun, Fowler is scared. He prepares himself to die with “a sense of exhilaration” (62). The soldiers discover a dead woman and a boy nearby.

That night, Fowler plays dice with the officers. A Lieutenant announces that Fowler is to be issued with a gun. Later, he is told that he must go to bed. He is given a gun, a candle, and a box of matches. In the early hours of the morning, Fowler hears a strange noise. He reaches for his gun, only to find Pyle beside his bed. He is wearing a helmet; Fowler is surprised that he is so well-equipped. Pyle explains that he rode a boat to visit the military base. He says does not have time to explain why he has come to Phat Diem, and then admits that he was searching for Fowler. He confesses that he has “fallen in love with Phuong” (68). Fowler is amused. Pyle insists that he wants to marry her, though Fowler waves away this suggestion. Despite his dismissive attitude, Fowler does envy Pyle for his youth. Fowler confesses that he is unable to marry Phuong as he has a wife who will not grant him a divorce. Pyle happily climbs into his sleeping bag as bombs fall in the distance. Pyle talks more about Phuong, insisting that both men want what is best for her. Pyle wants to take care of her for the rest of her life. He seems quietly confident that he can provide for Phuong in a way that Fowler cannot. Exasperated and tired, Fowler pours them both whiskey, and they drink in silence, unwilling to toast each other’s good fortune.

Three weeks later, Fowler is back in Saigon. Pyle already returned, having spent only a day in Phat Diem. Fowler considers Pyle harmless and quiet. As the months pass, however, he learns about the pain that Pyle endured. He thinks back on the events after Pyle left Phat Diem.

The narrative goes back to the day Pyle leaves Phat Diem. He travels on a boat down a river plagued by snipers and other threats. Fowler is disgusted that Pyle cannot conceive of the danger he might face or the pain he might cause other people. When Fowler reaches Hanoi, he finds a letter from Pyle in which he thanks Fowler for his understanding. When he reads Pyle’s relief regarding Phuong, Fowler is amazed that a person could be so self-centered.

At a press conference in Hanoi, Fowler meets Granger. They listen to a colonel discuss French losses. Under Granger’s questioning, the colonel admits that losses were more drastic than expected and he blames the lack of “supplies promised by the Americans” (79). At his hotel, Fowler receives a “congratulatory telegram” from his office. He has been promoted to foreign editor, but this means he must return to the offices in England. Fowler wants to remain in Vietnam with Phuong. He does not want to leave her with Pyle. Feeling despondent, he walks to the Pax Bar and meets a foreign officer named Pietri. Both men prefer to live in Vietnam rather than their home countries, and they play dice games together.