The Ugly American: Duality and Identity - Book Report/Review Example

The Ugly American: Duality and Identity The nature of the American presence within the world has been met with resentment for the superiority and condescension that often accompanies American policies and attitudes in foreign nations. Because of the aftermath of World War II and the development of a xenophobic nature to the American identity, the ability for Americans to relate to foreign cultures is often stunted and without the flexibility required to successfully engage foreign states. William Lederer and Eugene Burdick wrote a book titled The Ugly American in which real events were related through disguised identities in relationship with the real histories of the American presence in Asia. The novel creates a duality between what exists and what it represents within many of the characters within the book. In an examination of four characters through the way in which they have dual purposes, the nature of the book and the way in which the blindness of the American foreign policies have been handled in Asia since World War II can be explored. .The 1950s created strange beasts out of the American public. On the one hand, great strides in both social order and in technology had created a world that was wildly prosperous, reinventing the belief in the American Dream and instilling within the people this sense that America was an ideological wonder that no other nation on Earth could rival. On the other hand, the paranoia that had become culturally imbedded into the public about the terror of the atom bomb manifested in insular creatures that lived in a bubble of both narcissistic superiority that was coupled by xenophobic fears. The 1950s was a transitional period between the misogynistic, racially prejudiced period of the first two centuries within the United States to the profound changes in freedom that would come within the 1960s and the criticisms that would lead to that burst of social change. The novel written by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick examines that strange cultural development of the period post-World War II in which an exploration of the nature of that dichotomy manifested in difficult foreign relations and impressions of arrogance in the American identity that is still an issue in today’s foreign relations. The Ugly America is set in a fictional Asian country, Sarkhan, but is meant to be suggestive of Vietnam. One of the more powerful themes within the novel is found in how the American idealism becomes twisted as it is imposed upon other cultures. As Americans live their lives in their nation, they do so with a strong sense of their identity, but when they step out of their own cultural surroundings they fail to relate their world to an understanding of the cultures with which they collide. An example of how this theme is represented can be seen in the story of the Ragtime Kid who relates the cost of living to that of the local inhabitants of the Philippines. In this instance, the character is showing how all people are the same in that they struggle to survive. He tells the people that he encounters that “We have poor people in America just like you have in the Philippines” (Lederer and Burdick 113). He goes on to tell them that while he makes significantly more money than they do, his expenses are significantly more than theirs. Colonel Edwin Barnham Hillandale creates a mini-concert by going into a small town and playing his harmonica. He plays music that is native to the culture, thus creating a bond with the people that gather around him to listen and sing along with his music. He then goes on to show his vulnerability by stating that he is broke and that he is hoping that someone will offer him food. The reason that he is doing this is because the communists have spread the word that Americans are rich and aloof, not able to communicate or relate to the local people. Hillandale creates an example of both a culturally liberal methodology for relating to people, and for the manipulation that the Americans are so often accused. He creates a relationship with the people on the terms of their own cultural traditions, thus showing that Americans are just as vulnerable and struggle for survival just as much as those within that culture. On the other hand, however, he is using this as a tool with which to convince the people of the Philippines to follow him towards pro-American foreign policy, revealing that he is using what he knows to manipulate others. In this case, the relationship that Hillandale creates appears to be positive, but overall one must question whether or not going into a country with the intention of influencing their government constitutes arrogance. One of the issues that the world has with Americans in the post-World War II era is that they have consistently had a foreign policy in which the American way is believed by her people to be the only way in which other national policies should be constructed. Since the time of the Truman Doctrine from which it became public policy to believe that the nature of other political ideologies, namely Communism, were a threat to Democracy, it has been the cultural belief and the foreign policy for America to be considered superior and that other cultures are simply uneducated or ignorant and must be taught what is right by American based influence. It is the ulterior motive that creates the counterbalance to the relationships that Hillandale creates in the Philippines. At the same time, it would be wonderful if Americans could look at those of other cultures and realize that they are not so different. The character of MacWhite can be observed for reflecting a duality of the American presence in Asia. MacWhite approaches his position as an ambassador through creating an understanding of the culture for which he is developing a relationship for the United States. He provides a counter to the ignorance with which most of the people who are dealing with Asia from the United States are displaying. In his dealings with the French, he points out that they have conducted their military strategies with the sensibility of European battle, rather than meeting the culture in battle with the terrain and the strategies that work best on foreign lands. This mistake has occurred throughout history, beginning with the American Revolutionary War in which the British conducted battle through methods that they had developed for European battle against foes that had similar traditions, where the colonists conducted battle through methods that utilized the terrain and their strengths to their best advantages. MacWhite shows that the mistakes of history were being repeated in Asia and that the blind belief in the superiority of European and American warfare would be the detriment to military objectives. This, of course, turned out to be very accurate. Therefore, as the political machines looked on at their ‘superior’ foreign policies and their condescension of Asian cultures, the mighty powers of American defense were defeated by the arrogance of their belief in the superiority of their own strategies. The experiences that MacWhite has with the foreign policies of officials from the United States provides a view into the problems that have occurred where a lack of intelligent preparation and context has caused failures between the United States and states within the Asian regions. MacWhite fights to find a position in which the authorities that can make change see the folly of their continuing policies. He fails to change the opinions of those who could make change and in the end he is replaced by someone who believes and reflects those ideas that have lead to the fall of the American influence in Asia. One of the ways in which MacWhite fails is through the manipulations of those who wish support against those who have to power to give that support. As an example, when the senator makes a visit to Vietnam to see the progress of the objectives of the United States within that country, his one week visit results in misdirection in which he is shown only what those from in the country wish him to see in order to suggest a higher rate of success than what is actually being achieved. Even though this misdirection is counterproductive to real productivity in the region, the report that he brings back is in conflict with the realities that the information that MacWhite has provided. Through the belief that the objectives of the United States are being engaged in a meaningful and successful way, the senator makes recommendations that will continue the policies and strategies being employed which is counterproductive to the way in which these strategies should be changed. Because he makes a report that is accurate, but not flattering to the current strategies, MacWhite is dismissed. MacWhite shows that success does not always follow honesty, and that being right does not necessarily mean that this knowledge will be validated. MacWhite represents clarity within a fog of belief that is baseless and without substantial foundation. Although he appears early in the book, the exploration of Sears puts the nature of the novel into context. Senator Louis Sears is the ambassador to Sarkhan in the beginning of the book and will eventually be replaced by MacWhite. The name that is given to Sears suggests the department store, which most likely reflects the ignorance that capitalism can create when dealing with other nations. The importance that the United States places upon economic strategies and ideologies often provides for the belief that in wealth is wisdom. Sears reveals that this is decidedly not the case. His inability to understand the culture for the nation to which he has been given an ambassadorship is a crippling status through which he reveals ineptitude for his position. It is because of his ignorance of anything other than his own belief systems he is unable to function in his post. He can be seen to represent the belief that in financial power lays the power of right, which of course is not a valid assumption. The arrogance of the American identity in foreign lands is that it is a common belief that through financial superiority the American people have harnessed superiority in all areas of concern for a people. As Sears represents the veil that seems to be cast between reality and a consumerist based culture, he is unable to provide any substance to his duties. As a result, he creates a series of blunders that end up embarrassing the United States and must resign his post. As a counter to his inadequacies, it is seen that the Russian diplomat, Louis Krupitzyn, who shares an identical first name with Sears, uses what he knows about the culture to successfully implement his objectives. The result is that it is clear that the reason that Communism flourished in Asia is that those who pushed for the rise of Communism in the region did so by relating to the people of the cultures rather than condescending to them. In using what was important to the cultures in which they engaged for control, the Communists asserted what appeared to be understanding while the influences of Democracy were weakened by an overall ignorance of the cultures in which they were trying to create influence. It is interesting how much Krupitzyn sounds like corruption. Through creating dual natures to the characters and providing for a deeper understanding of the larger political problems in the region in examples provided through characterization, Lederer and Burdick not only make a statement about foreign policy in Asia, they provide predictions of how events in Asia will play out long after the novel is published. Through characters like Hillandale and MacWhite, it is shown how the appropriate approach is countered by the ignorance of greater authority. Through the contrasts between Sears and Krupitzyn, the ways in which the success and failures occurred in the region can be observed. American arrogance and ignorance is explored through the actions of the authorities in contrast to those who are intimately involved in the foreign relations within the cultures. The American identity is defined within the dual representations within those characters. Works Cited Lederer, William J, and Eugene Burdick. The Ugly American. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 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