COURSE OUTLINE Subject Units of credit Prerequisite Suggested self- study Instructor Contact detail British Literature (30 periods) Advanced level of English proficiency 120 periods Đặng Kiều Diệp dangkieudiep@yahoo.com cell phone: 0914151999 Textbooks and References: - An G C Thornley and Gwyneth Roberts (1998), An Outline of English Literature, Long Man Group Ltd - Nguyen Chi Trung (2003), English Literature, Nha Xuat Ban Giao Duc - http:// www.online-literature.com Course Outline Order Session Teacher’s lecture Teacher’s lecture Teacher’s lecture Topics Remarks - Individual, pair, group work - Student-led activities - Teacher’s lecture - Course expectation - Introduction & Assignments - Literary terms - An introduction to the history of British Literature - An introduction to the history of British Literature - SONNET 18 - SONNET 29 - Literary terms - Student-led activities - Student-led activities - Teacher’s lecture - Student-led activities ROMEO and JULIET - A RED RED ROSE - Literary terms - DAFFODIFS Group work (Assignment) - Group work (Assignment) - Individual, pair, group work - Group work (Assignment) - Student-led activities - Teacher’s lecture - Teacher’s lecture - OLIVER TWIST- Chapter IV - Literary terms - THE QUIET AMERICAN - Group work (Assignment) - Individual, pair, group work - Individual work (Assignment) - Student-led activities - FLIGHT - Group work (Assignment) 10 - Teacher’s lecture - Mid- term test - Review/ Problems and Solving Literary terms, Selected Works - Individual, pair, group work - Individual work - Individual, pair, group work - Individual, pair, group work - Group work (Assignment) - Individual, pair, group work Subject objectives: The specific objectives of this subject are to help students to: get an overview of the history of British Literature; interpret and analyze some selected works Attendance You are expected to attend all classes and participate actively in class activities Good attendance (including presentation and actively participation in class activities) will be rewarded 10% of your final mark Assessment This course will be examined by a combination of in-term assessment and an end-ofterm test The final grade will be rewarded on the basis of your marks for your attendance (10%), your assignments (individual, and group work; 25 %), a mid-term test (15%) and an end-of-term test (50%) William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) BIOGRAPHY Shakespeare (1564–1616), `The Bard of Avon', English poet and playwright wrote the famous 154 Sonnets and numerous highly successful oft quoted dramatic works including the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and motherMary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon There is no record of his birth, but his bptism was recorded by the church, thus his birthday is assumed to be the 23rd of April His father was a prominent and prosperous alderman in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and was later granted a coat of arms by the college of Heralds All that is known of Shakespeare’s youth is that he presumably attended the Stratford Grammar School, and did not proceed to Oxford or Cambridge The next record we have of him and his marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582 The next year she bore a daughter for him, Susanna, followed by the twins Judith and Hamnet two years later Seven years later Shakespeare was recognized as an actor, poet, and playwright, when a rival playwright, Robert Greene, referred to him as “an upstart crow” in “A Groatsworth of Wit” A few years later he joined up with one of the most successful acting troupes in London: “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men” When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease of the theatre where they performed (appropriately called “The theatre”), they were wealthy enough to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called “The Globe” The new theatre opened in July of 1599, built from the timbers of “The Theatre”, with the motto “Totus mundus agit histrionem” (A whole world of players) When James I came to the throne (1603) the troupe was designated by the new king as the “King’s Men” (or “King’s Company”) The letters Patent of the company specifically charged Shakespeare and eight others “freely to use an dexercise the art and faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Interludes, Morals, Pastorals, stage plays… as well for recreation of our loving subjects as for our solace and pleasure” Shakespeare entertained the King anfd the people for other ten years until June 19, 1613, when a canon fired from the roof of the theatre for a gala performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatch roof and burned the theatre to the ground The audience ignored the smoke from the roof at first, being too absorbed in the play, until the flames caught the walls and the fabric of the curtains Amazingly there were nocasualties, and the next spring the company had the theatre “new builded in a far fairer manner than before” Althought Shakespeare invested in the building, he retired from the stage to the Great House of New Palace in Stratford that he head purchased in 1597, and some considerable land holdings, where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on the day of his 52nd birthday The complete works of William Shakespeare (listed in chronological order of performance) Comedy History Tragedy Poetry Taming of the Shrew first performed 1593-94 (1623), Comedy of Errors 1594 (1623), Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95 (1623), Love's Labour's Lost 1594-95 (1598), Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-96 (1600), Merchant of Venice 1596-1597 (1600), Much Ado About Nothing 1598-1599 (1600), As You Like It 1599-00 (1623), Merry Wives of Windsor 1600-01 (1602), Troilus and Cressida 1602 (1609), Twelfth Night 1602 (1623), All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03 (1623), Measure for Measure 1604 (1623), Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1608-09 (1609), Tempest (1611), Cymbeline 1611-12 (1623), Winter's Tale 1611-12 (1623) King Henry VI Part 1592 (printed in 1594); King Henry VI Part 1592-93 (1594); King Henry VI Part 1592-93 (1623); King John 1596-97 (1623); King Henry IV Part 1597-98 (1598); King Henry IV Part 1597-98 (1600); King Henry V 1598-99 (1600); Richard II 1600-01 (1597); Richard III 1601 (1597); and King Henry VIII 1612-13 (1623) Titus Andronicus first performed in 1594 (printed in 1594), Romeo and Juliet 1594-95 (1597), Hamlet 1600-01 (1603), Julius Caesar 1600-01 (1623), Othello 1604-05 (1622), Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07 (1623), King Lear 1606 (1608), Coriolanus 1607-08 (1623), derived from Plutarch Timon of Athens 1607-08 (1623), and Macbeth 1611-1612 (1623) Venus and Adonis (1594) The Rape of Lucrece (1594) The Phoenix and The Turtle (1599) The Passionate Pilgrim (1601) A Lover's Complaint (1609) 154 sonnets (1609) THE SONNET FORM A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme There are two most common kinds of sonnets in English poetry, taken their names after being utilized by the greatest poets: Petrarchan sonnet and Shakespearean sonnet The Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet, named after Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), the Italian poet, was introduced into English poetry in the early 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) Its fourteen lines break into an octave (or octet), which usually rhymes abbaabba, but which may sometimes be abbacddc or even (rarely) abababab; and a sestet, which may rhyme cdecde or cdcdcd, or any of the multiple variations possible using only two or three rhyme-sounds The English or Shakespearean sonnet, developed first by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547) and then made famous by william Shkespeare, consists of three quatrains and a couplet that is, it rhymes abab cdcd efef gg In addition, the English (or Shakespearean) Sonnet has a turn between the third quatrain and the concluding couplet which often marks a change from the presentation of images and the building of a case (in the quatrains) After the turn, the poet often states a conclusion, sometimes the "meaning" or "purpose" of the poem Therefore, the sonnet often has its greatest power in the concluding couplet SONNET 18 by William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee NOTES Thee: you (objective case) Thou: you (subjective case) Thou art: you are Thy: your (possessive adjective) Hath (v): have Dimm’d: dimmed Untrimm’d: untrimmed Thou ow’st: you owe Thou wan’rest: you wander Thou grow’st: you grow Questions for Discussion: What the three quatrains say? What is expressed in the couplet? Why is Shakespeare’s friend “more lovely and more temperate”? How does Shakespeare react to the process of temporal decay in this sonnet? What is the theme of the poem? SONNET 29 by William Shakespeare When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur’d like him, like him with friends possess'd, Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope, With that I most enjoy contented least Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising Haply I think on thee, and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings Questions for Discussion: What mood is engendered by the simile in line 11? What’s the poet’s attitude in the first lines? What helps him change his attitude later? What’s the poet’s attitude in the couplet of the sonnet? What is the theme of this sonnet? Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare The play starts with a street brawl between Montagues and Capulets The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death Later, Count Paris talks to Lord Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the request because Juliet is still only thirteen Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris' courtship After the brawl, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Lord Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited love for a girl named Rosaline, one of Lord Capulet's nieces Persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet After the ball, in what is now called the "balcony scene", Romeo sneaks into the Capulet courtyard and overhears Juliet on her balcony vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union, they are married secretly the next day Juliet's cousin Tybalt, offended that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight him Mercutio is incensed by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's "vile submission", and accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf Mercutio is fatally wounded and Romeo, angered by his friend's death, pursues and slays Tybalt The Prince exiles Romeo from Verona for the killing He also adds that if Romeo returns, "that hour is his last" Lord Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's "joyful bride" When she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a drug that will put her into a death-like coma for "two and forty hours".[4] The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he can rejoin her when she awakens On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, he learns of Juliet's apparent death from his servant Balthasar Grief-stricken, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately Believing Romeo to be a vandal Paris confronts him and, in the ensuing battle, Romeo kills Paris Still believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks the poison Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his dagger The feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead Friar Laurence recounts the story of the two "star-cross'd lovers" The families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end their violent feud The play ends with the Prince's elegy for the lovers: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” ROMEO AND JULIET PLOT SYNOPSIS Act I, Prologue The play begins in Verona, a city that has had its peace shattered by the feud between two prominent families, the house of Montague and the house of Capulet The Chorus tells us that amidst this ancient grudge, a "pair of star-cross'd lovers" will take their lives and that their deaths will extinguish their parents' rage Act I, Scene I On a street in Verona, two servants from the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory, deliberately initiate a fight with two servants from the Montague house, Abram and Balthasar Benvolio, a close friend to Romeo and nephew of Lord Montague, arrives and tries to stop the fight: "Part fools!/Put up your swords; you know not what you do" (I.i.56-7) But as he attempts to keep the peace, Tybalt, nephew to Lord Capulet, comes upon the scene and demands to duel with the passive young Benvolio Reluctantly, Benvolio draws his sword and they fight The fiery citizens of Verona become involved and a vicious brawl ensues Capulet and Montague arrive, and immediately join in the clash, while their wives look on in fear Prince Escalus happens upon the scene and he is shocked and outraged at such behaviour from his subjects His guards break up the fight and he chastises all those involved, exclaiming "You men, you beasts!" (I.i.74-5) He declares that any further public disorder will result in the execution of the participants The crowd disperses along with Lord Capulet and his family, leaving behind Montague, Lady Montague, and Benvolio Their attention turns to their son Romeo, who has been depressed of late Benvolio asks Lord Montague if he knows what is troubling his son, but he has no answer All he knows is that Romeo has been seen walking the streets in the early mornings, "With tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew/Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs" (I.i.124-5) Benvolio sees Romeo coming and requests that Montague and his Lady step aside so he can talk to Romeo alone and uncover the reason for his melancholy After asking many questions Benvolio finally learns that Romeo is sad because he is in love with a woman, Rosaline, who has taken a vow of chastity and refuses to return his affection Benvolio suggests to Romeo that he should forget Rosaline and look for romance elsewhere Romeo insists that no woman could ever compare to Rosaline, for she is a ravishing beauty He insists that to forget Rosaline would be impossible, "Thou canst not teach me to forget" (I.i.229), as the scene comes to a close Act I, Scene II Scene II opens with Paris, a noble young kinsmen of the Prince, asking Capulet for his daughter's hand in marriage Capulet tells Paris that Juliet has "not seen the change of fourteen years" (I.ii.10) and is probably too young to marry However, if Paris can woo her and win her heart, Capulet will grant him consent to wed Juliet Capulet is preparing for a grand party at his house that evening, and he gives a servant a guest list and instructs him to go forth into the streets to invite them all The servant meets Romeo and Benvolio on the road and he begs Romeo to help him, for he is illiterate and cannot complete the task given to him by his master Romeo obligingly reads aloud the names 10 And I for winking at your discords too Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish'd CAPULET O brother Montague, give me thy hand: This is my daughter's jointure, for no more Can I demand MONTAGUE But I can give thee more: For I will raise her statue in pure gold; That while Verona by that name is known, There shall no figure at such rate be set As that of true and faithful Juliet CAPULET As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie; Poor sacrifices of our enmity! PRINCE A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo 34 ROMEO AND JULIET ESSAY TOPICS Discuss the character of Romeo and his infatuation with Rosaline Does this weaken the credibility of the love he feels for Juliet? Friar Laurence serves many dramatic purposes in the play Examine the Friar and his role in Romeo and Juliet Mercutio is considered to be one of Shakespeare's great creations, yet he is killed relatively early in the play What makes Mercutio so memorable a character? Examine the role of women in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet are referred to as "star-cross'd lovers" Discuss the concept of predetermined destiny and how it relates to the play Discuss Juliet's soliloquy that opens Act III, Scene II, paying particular attention to its poetic merits and relevance to the overall play Many references are made to time in the play Discuss the passage of time throughout Romeo and Juliet What sets Romeo and Juliet apart from Shakespeare's other great tragedies? In particular, what differentiates the young lovers from other Shakespearean heroes like Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet? Mercutio gives a wonderful monologue on Queen Mab in Act I, Scene IV Examine this passage and discuss its literary qualities Of what significance is Mercutio's speech to the overall play? 10 Juliet's suitor Paris is compared throughout the play to Romeo Examine carefully the similarities and differences between the two young men who love Juliet 35 Robert Burns (1759 -1796) 36 A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns O my luve's like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June; O my luve's like a melodie That's sweetly play'd in tune As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will love thee still, my Dear, Till a'the seas gang dry Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun: I will luve thee still, my Dear, While the sands o'life shall run And fare thee weel my only Luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' it were ten thousand mile! 37 Questions for Discussion: In the first stanza, what does the poet compare his love to? How deep is his love? What figures of speech are used in the first stanza? What images show that the poet’s love for his sweet heart is very strong and deep? What is the theme of the poem? What you think about his assertions of love ? Daffodils By William Wordsworth I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed and gazed but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils 38 Questions for Discussion: In what ways did the speaker liken himself to a cloud? What are the figures of speech used in the poem? What is the symbolic meaning of the daffodils? What is the theme of the poem? 39 Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 40 Oliver Twist Questions for Discussion: What is the irony of the description of Mr Bumble’s buttons on his coat? How is Oliver treated at the workhouse? What kind of job is he given? How does Oliver prove himself to be? Is he like the image Mr Bumble thinks about him? What kind of person is Mr Bumble? What kind of person is Mrs Sowerberry? Whose portion of meal is given to Oliver? What is Oliver’s rreaction when he learns about it? What does that detail suggest to readers? What kind of point of view is used here to narrate the story? What is its effect? In what way is this a social criticism? 41 Graham Greene (1904-1991) 42 BIOGRAPHY Henry Graham Greene OM, CH (2 October 1904 – April 1991) was an English author, playwright and literary critic His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world Greene was notable for his ability to combine serious literary acclaim with widespread popularity Although Greene objected strongly to being described as a Catholic novelist rather than as a novelist who happened to be Catholic, Catholic religious themes are at the root of much of his writing, especially the four major Catholic novels: Brighton Rock, The Heart of the Matter, The End of the Affair and The Power and the Glory Later works such as The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana and The Comedians also show an avid interest in the workings of international politics and espionage Greene suffered from bipolar disorder, which had a profound effect on his writing and personal life In a letter to his wife Vivien he told her that he had "a character profoundly antagonistic to ordinary domestic life", and that "unfortunately, the disease is also one's material" Greene was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, the fourth of six children His younger brother, Hugh, became Director-General of the BBC, his elder brother, Raymond, an eminent physician and mountaineer In 1910, Graham attended Berkhamsted School Bullied, and profoundly depressed as a boarder, he attempted suicide several times, some, as he claimed in his autobiography, by Russian roulette In 1920 at age 16 he was psychoanalysed for six months in London, afterwards returning to school as a day boy School friends included Claud Cockburn and Peter Quennell In 1925, while an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford, his first work, a volume of poorly received poetry, entitled Babbling April, was published Career After graduating with a second-class degree in history, Greene unsuccessfully took up journalism, first on the Nottingham Journal, and then as a sub-editor on The Times While in Nottingham he started corresponding with Vivien Dayrell-Browning, a Catholic convert, who had written him to correct him on a point of Catholic doctrine Greene converted to Catholicism in 1926 (described in A Sort of Life) and was baptised in February the same year He married Vivien in 1927; and they had two children, Lucy (b 43 1933) and Francis (b 1936) In 1948 Greene abandoned Vivien He had affairs with a number of women, yet remained married Novels and other works Greene's first published novel was The Man Within (1929) Favourable reception emboldened him to quit his sub-editor job at The Times and work as a full-time novelist However, the next two books, The Name of Action (1930) and Rumour at Nightfall (1932), were unsuccessful; and he later disowned them His first true success was Stamboul Train (1932), adapted as the film Orient Express (1934) Many of his books would be so adapted He supplemented his novelist's income with freelance journalism, book and film reviews for The Spectator, and co-editing the magazine Night and Day, which folded in 1937, shortly after Greene's film review of Wee Willie Winkie, featuring nine-year-old Shirley Temple, cost the magazine a lost libel lawsuit Greene's review claimed that Temple displayed "a dubious coquetry" which appealed to "middle-aged men and clergymen" It is now considered one of the first criticisms of the sexualisation of children for entertainment The criminal libel could have led to Greene's imprisonment; and its avoidance, according to Greene's friend Alberto Cavalcanti in an unpublished autobiography, was the motivation for the visit to Mexico, which was to inspire The Power and the Glory Mexico did not have an extradition treaty with the UK at the time Greene originally divided his fiction into two genres: thrillers (mystery and suspense books), such as The Ministry of Fear, which he described as entertainments, often with notable philosophic edges, and literary works, such as The Power and the Glory, which he described as novels, on which he thought his literary reputation was to be based As his career lengthened, both Greene and his readers found the distinction between the entertainments and the novels to become blurred His later efforts, such as The Human Factor, The Comedians, Our Man in Havana, and The Quiet American, combine these modes in compressed but remarkably insightful work He also wrote the screenplay, and afterward the novella, for the now-classic film noir, The Third Man (1949) Greene also wrote short stories and plays, which were well-received, although he was foremost always a novelist He collected the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Heart of the Matter His long, successful career and great readership (for a serious literary novelist) led to hope he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature Although considered in 1974, he was not awarded it Greene's friend and occasional publisher, Michael Korda, wrote in his memoir, Another Life (1999), that Greene believed he was always one vote short of the prize, withheld by one judge, who disliked his Catholicism and left-wing sympathies, and "who seemed determined to outlive him" Greene was awarded Britain's Order of Merit in 1986 44 In 2009 The Strand magazine began to publish in serial form a newly discovered Greene novel entitled, "The Empty Chair." The manuscript was written in longhand when Greene was 22 and newly converted to Catholicism Writing style and themes The literary style of Graham Greene was described by Evelyn Waugh in Commonweal as "not a specifically literary style at all The words are functional, devoid of sensuous attraction, of ancestry, and of independent life" This lean, realistic prose and readability was thought by Virginia Quarterly Review to be "the main business of holding the reader's attention." His cinematic visual sense led to a number of his novels being made into films,[18] such as Brighton Rock in 1947, The End of the Affair in 1955 and 1999, and The Quiet American in 1958 and 2002 He wrote several original screenplays, such as The Third Man in 1949 His novel, The Honorary Consul, published in 1973, was made into a famous Hollywood movie entitled "Beyond the Limit," featuring Sir Michael Caine and Richard Gere, released in 1983 Michael Korda the famous author and Hollywood script-writer contributed the foreword and introduction to this novel in a commemorative edition Greene concentrated on portraying the characters' internal lives - the mental, emotional, and spiritual depths The stories usually occurred in poor, hot, and dusty tropical backwaters, in countries such as Mexico, West Africa, Vietnam, Cuba, Haiti, and Argentina, which led to the coining of the expression "Greeneland" to describe such settings 45 The Quiet American The Quiet American is one of Greene's later books, written in 1955, and draws on his experiences as a SIS agent spying for Britain in World War II in Sierra Leone in the early 1940s and on winters spent from 1951 to 1954 in Saigon reporting on the French colonial war for The Times and Le Figaro He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a “third force in Vietnam” Greene spent three years writing it Major Characters Thomas Fowler is a British journalist in his fifties who has been covering the French war in Vietnam for over two years He meets Alden Pyle and finds him naïve Alden Pyle is the "quiet American" of the title Pyle is thoughtful, soft-spoken, intellectual, serious, and idealistic He comes from a privileged East Coast background His father is a renowned professor of underwater erosion who has appeared on the cover of Time magazine; his mother is well respected in their community Pyle is a brilliant graduate of Harvard University He has studied theories of government and society, and is particularly devoted to a scholar named York Harding Harding's theory is that neither Communism nor colonialism is the answer in foreign lands like Vietnam, but rather a "Third Force," usually a combination of traditions, works best Pyle has read Harding's numerous books many times and has absorbed Harding's thinking as his own Phuong, Fowler’s lover at the beginning of the novel, is a beautiful young Vietnamese girl who stays with him for security and protection, and leaves him for the same reason She is viewed by Fowler as a companion to be taken for granted and by Pyle as a delicate flower to be protected, but Greene never makes clear which, if either, of these views is actually the truth Pyle's desire for Phuong was largely interpreted by critics to parallel his desire for a non-communist south Vietnam Her character is never fully developed or revealed She is never able to show her emotions, as her older sister makes decisions for her She is named after - but not based on - a Vietnamese friend of Greene’s Vigot, a French inspector at the Sûreté, investigates Pyle's death He is a man torn between doing his duty (pursuing Pyle's death and questioning Fowler) and doing what is best for the country (letting the matter go) He and Fowler are oddly akin in some ways, both faintly cynical and weary of the world; hence their discussion of Blaise Pascal But they are divided by the differences in their faith: Vigot is a Roman Catholic and Fowler an atheist 46 Doris Lessing (1919 -) 47 The Flight Questions for discussion: What part of the day is it? How does the old man feel at that time? How does the scene around affect his mood? Why does the old man object to the girl’s marriage? Why does the witer devote so much attention to a description of the setting, especially to the birds? What does the birds symbolize? What is the connection between the first episode involving the old man and his birds and the last one? Explain the man’s reaction at the end of the story? Why does he smile at his granddaughter? How could you understand the meaning of Alice’s tears? The tension between the old man and the young couple seems to melt away when they offer him the gift Is it because the old man loves his pets so much that he turns out to be tolerant to them or is it because there are any other reasons? What you think is the theme of the story? 48