The Ugly American

by

Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Ugly American makes teaching easy.

The Ugly American: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Louis Sears, American Ambassador to Sarkhan, looks angrily at the Sarkhan Eastern Star, the most popular newspaper in Haidho, capital city of Sarkhan. He looks out his window at the American embassy and the American trucks carrying American weapons through the streets. He sees Sarkhanese people going about their day and thinks of them as “strange little monkeys.” Sears looks back at the newspaper and thinks it’s a “red paper.” The paper published a political cartoon of a fat man that looks suspiciously like him, leading a Sarkhanese man on a leash toward a Coca-Cola sign. Nobody in the Embassy can read Sarkhanese, but he’s sure the cartoon is about him: the fat man in the cartoon is named “Lucky.”
This introduction establishes several of the major themes at once: the heavy presence of American vehicles and technology suggests that the story will focus on America’s relationship with less-developed nations; Sears’s suspicion that the newspaper only insults him because it is a “red paper” indicates that Communism is considered a real threat; his reference to the Sarkhanese as “strange little monkeys” suggests that Sears harbors racial prejudice; and the American diplomats’ inability to understand Sarkhanese suggests they are ill-equipped for their position and insensitive to the surrounding culture.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
Lucky Louis earned his nickname during his 18 years of being a “popular and successful senator,” since he always seems to win his elections by luck: his first opponent drops dead, his second opponent’s wife is suddenly embroiled in scandal, and so on. When he loses his fourth election, Sears knows that “his party owed him something,” so rather than be distressed, he simply asks the [Democratic] National Committee to give him a tenured job as a federal judge. The National Committee tells him that such a position won’t be open for two years, but they can make him an ambassador in Sarkhan, a small country near Thailand, until then.
Although the Ambassador to Sarkhan is an important position, Sears receives it as a holding position until he can take a more lucrative job. This implies that the head of American diplomacy in Sarkhan does not actually have any interest in other cultures, foreign policy, or anything related to the job at hand. From the authors’ perspective, this implies that many of the people holding Foreign Service positions are not committed to achieving anything, just furthering their own careers.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Although Sears says he doesn’t like working with black people, the National Committee promises him a decent salary, an “entertainment allowance” almost as large as his salary, and a free mansion to live in. He accepts. Sears likes his post in Sarkhan at first, and the mansion is by far the most luxurious place he and his wife have ever lived. However, the papers soon start printing mocking cartoons of him, poking fun at his weight. Sears never minded when white people made jokes, but Sears think that it seems “a bit uppity and quite another thing for natives to joke about his physique.”
The luxurious mansion and massive “entertainment allowance” suggests that Foreign Service workers are able to lead far more luxurious overseas than they can back home. This raises the possibility that some diplomats are drawn to the work by the allure of mansions and parties and servants rather than out of an honest desire to protect American interests or help other people around the world. Again, Sears exhibits blatant racism, which is a thread that runs throughout the entire book.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
Quotes
Margaret Johnson, the Embassy’s press attaché, enters Sears’s office and tells him that a mob beat up John Colvin and threw him on the Embassy steps, claiming he’d molested a young girl. Sears is irritated by the distraction but minimizes the sexual crime. He then tells Margaret that first he needs to see Prince Ngong about the cartoon, then he’ll see Colvin in the hospital.
Sears’s disregard for alleged sexual abuse of a minor suggests that he is a man without principle. His decision to prioritize complaining about political cartoons about himself over handling a serious diplomatic issue suggests that Sears’s ego is far more important to him than fulfilling his role.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Get the entire The Ugly American LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Ugly American PDF
Colvin wakes in a hospital room, covered in bandages and filled with painkillers. He thinks about how strange the events that just happened were. Deong, a man he’d considered a friend, had just stuck a gun in his back. Colvin thinks back to meeting Deong in 1943, when Deong saved his life: Colvin parachutes into Sarkhan as an O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) agent with three other men, but the others are quickly killed by Japanese patrols. Colvin evades the Japanese soldiers for two weeks, but just barely. When Colvin is running from Japanese soldiers whom he knows will catch him, he runs into Deong, a villager sitting atop a water buffalo. In Sarkhanese, Colvin explains that he is an American agent and he needs help.
John Colvin’s brief story fills in some of Sarkhan’s (fictional) history. Colvin fights Japanese patrols as an American special forces fighter, indicating that Japan occupied Sarkhan during World War II, just as it did to China and Vietnam. This depicts Sarkhan as an archetypal Southeast Asian country, representative of the developing countries in that region such as Vietnam, Burma, and China.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Deong agrees to help and hides Colvin underwater beneath a rock in a shallow ditch. The Japanese soldiers arrive minutes later, cannot find Colvin, and eventually leave. After they are safe, Deong pulls Colvin out of the watery ditch, grinning at him. For the next eight months, Colvin and Deong roam Sarkhan together, blowing up bridges and sabotaging Japanese military patrols. Colvin grows to admire Deong and all Sarkhanese people very deeply. The Sarkhanese are generous toward him and protect him, sometimes even dying to do so, and they only request that he discuss philosophy with them in return.
Deong, a Sarkhanese man, saves the American soldier’s life, demonstrating that Sarkhanese-American relations can be mutually beneficial. Their close cooperation foreshadows the cooperation required for grassroots development, as later demonstrated by Homer and Emma Atkins. The Sarkhanese people’s interest in philosophy suggests that they are a reflective, thoughtful culture.
Themes
Grassroots Development Theme Icon
Shortly before America liberates Sarkhan from the Japanese, Colvin teaches Deong how to poison people with ipecac. When the American marines are about to land on the shore and make their assault, Deong convinces Sarkhanese cooks to poison the Japanese soldier’s food with ipecac, which doesn’t kill them but makes them incredibly ill. The American soldiers land and easily take Sarkhan, since the Japanese are too sick to fight. Three weeks later, Colvin retires from the O.S.S. and returns to Wisconsin to run his family’s powdered milk business. In 1952, newspapers report that Sarkhan is leaning toward Communism. The news shocks Colvin, and he writes letters to his congressman explaining Sarkhanese culture and advising how America could handle the situation. However, nothing changes.
Notably, America is only able to liberate Sarkhan with the help of the Sarkhanese people. This foreshadows the novel’s depiction of sustainable grassroots development, which requires that the foreigners offering aid collaborate with the local people to find effective solutions and help them to build a better future for themselves. The American government’s dismissal of Colvin’s letters hints at how ineffective and unwilling to change it is.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Grassroots Development Theme Icon
Colvin grows impatient and feels that the United States is mismanaging the situation in Sarkhan. He forms a plan to return to Sarkhan, introduce its population to milk (starting with powder but changing to fresh later on), and import a new breed of short-legged cattle that could thrive on Sarkhan’s steep hillsides, thus stimulating the economy with new beef and dairy industries. When Colvin gets to Sarkhan, he cannot find Deong, so he sets up a milk distribution center on his own just outside of Haidho. The American Embassy tells Colvin that his project is foolish, but his first two weeks of operation are successful. Then Deong suddenly appears, pointing a gun at him, carrying a bag of ipecac.
Although it is thwarted, Colvin’s plan represents an intelligent and sustainable solution to a regional problem. Rather than simply pouring extra money into an ailing economy, Colvin finds a way to create practical new industries that offer concrete benefits of beef and dairy to local people. Notably, the American Embassy refuses to back such a reasonable initiative, suggesting that the American Foreign Service in Sarkhan is impractical and ineffective.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Grassroots Development Theme Icon
Deong tells Colvin to put the ipecac into his milk mixing machine, but Colvin refuses. When Colvin tells Deong he’s not involved in politics anymore, Deong tells him that “powdered milk and cattle are part of politics, and therefore part of history.” Deong tells Colvin that his milk scheme could change Sarkhan’s economy, and though it’s a good plan, Colvin shouldn’t be the person to do it. It would appear to other Sarkhanese people that “America was their savior.” Colvin realizes that Deong is a Communist, and Deong tells him he has no choice—the Communists are clearly going to win; the Americans do nothing but lose and waste time now.
Deong’s recognition that something as mundane as powdered milk will change the course of history suggests that economics and politics are inextricably linked. His sense that the Americans will lose Sarkhan to the Communists again suggest the failure of American foreign policy, and his fear that Colvin’s milk plan would make America seem a hero to the Sarkhanese demonstrates the complexity of navigating economics, politics, and social climate in another country.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Grassroots Development Theme Icon
Quotes
Colvin knocks the gun out of Deong’s hand, but not before Deong shoots him in the arm. They struggle on the floor together. When Deong sees a passing group of Sarkhanese women, he shouts that Colvin was trying to lace his milk with “cocol,” a local drug rumored to make young girls lose their virtue and have sex with bad men. The women jump on Colvin and viciously attack him. As he fades from consciousness, Colvin feels his dream for Sarkhan slip away from him. Hours later, the Sarkhanese strip him naked and leave him on the Embassy steps, declaring him an “American rapist.”
Deong incites the women to violence by claiming that Colvin was trying to lace milk with “cocol.” Although untrue, the women still attack Colvin and nearly kill him, demonstrating that perception is at least as important as reality, especially when one is working in a foreign country. Deong’s clever, but ruthless, accusation foreshadows the manner in which the Communists will use perception and propaganda to outwit the Americans.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Prince Ngong, a Sarkhanese intellectual and protocol officer, meets with Louis Sears. Sears complains about the political cartoons, threatening to tell Washington, D.C., about them. Prince Ngong tries to appease Sears, but also mentions that as a democratic country, Sarkhan’s government tries not to impede on a free press. However, that afternoon, Prince Ngong meets with his advisors and states that although they want to be independent, not beholden to either America or the Soviet Union, they are in a position where they must bargain with richer nations. Sears is “more stupid than most” but can also be vicious in defending himself. After much deliberation, the Sarkhanese officials begrudgingly decide that they will persuade the Sarkhan Eastern Star to run a flattering article and cartoon about Sears.
Sears’s complaints and threat that he’ll fib to Washington, D.C., carry the implication that Prince Ngong must suppress the free press in order to suit Sears’s ego. This is particularly dark, since it reveals that Sears, an American diplomat, has no real interest in protecting democratic freedoms in Sarkhan. Prince Ngong’s statement to his advisors suggests that although Sarkhan wants to be free and independent, they are trapped in a dependent position, meaning they must sacrifice their own democratic freedoms to appease American egos.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Self-Interested Philanthropy Theme Icon
Quotes
Sears visits Colvin in the hospital. Half an hour before, the local newspaper’s publisher called him and told him about a flattering article they would print on him, so Sears is satisfied. Sears finds Colvin in a hospital bed, jokes with him, and reminds him to be careful about such “freewheeling” since it makes America look bad. When Sears tells Colvin that he’ll arrange a flight home to America for him, Colvin tells him that he “won’t go.”
Sears gets his wish for flattering press, quashing the democratic concept of free press in the process. This again suggests that he values his own ego more than protecting Sarkhan’s freedoms. His charge that Colvin’s “freewheeling” makes America look bad is particularly ironic, since Sears’s egoism and incompetence obviously damages America’s reputation far more.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Self-Interested Philanthropy Theme Icon