Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Ugly American, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Failure of the American Foreign Service
Communism vs. Capitalism
Grassroots Development
Self-Interested Philanthropy
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity
Summary
Analysis
Major James “Tex” Wolchek, a decorated American veteran of World War II and the Korean War, reports to the Frenchman, Major Monet. Tex has bits of metal from two different wars lodged in his body. During World War II, he is shot in the leg while parachuting into Normandy. When he lands, he crawls for three miles and manages to single-handedly capture a tired German platoon. The second injury occurs in Korea, when he leads a platoon on a reckless charge against a Chinese base, killing two colonels and a general in the process. During the charge, Tex catches grenade shrapnel in his back, is captured by Chinese soldiers, and escapes. Though the fighting continues in Korea, Tex’s commander sends him to Vietnam.
Tex’s war record depicts him as a classic American hero and an excellent fighter. Since Tex will eventually argue for abandoning Western notions of warfare to adopt a Communist-style of fighting, his position as the ideal American soldier establishes him as someone who has proven the effectiveness of Western strategies in the past. This makes his proposal to abandon Western ideas of warfare more poignant.
Themes
Monet admits that Tex’s attachment to his unit as a foreign observer is unfortunate—Monet’s men are about to parachute into fierce fighting in Dien Bien Phu. Tex elects to go with them, since he has more paratrooper experience than any of Monet’s men, though it violates Tex’s superior’s orders. They spend the day together, and Tex learns that Monet belongs to one of France’s most esteemed military families. The next day, Tex meets Monet’s Foreign Legionnaires, one of whom is a black American named Jim Davis. After Tex and Monet make their inspections, Monet tells Tex that Davis is one of his best men, and the only Foreign Legionnaire that the Vietnamese scouts trust.
Tex’s willingness to fight alongside Monet in opposition to military orders suggests that, though an excellent soldier, he is also unconventional and likes to make his own judgments—he cares more about being effective than about following orders or protocol. Monet’s impressive military lineage depicts him as an ideal warrior, like Tex, well-versed in the Western philosophy of warfare. The Vietnamese scouts only trust Davis, a black man, implying that they do not trust white people.
Themes
The next morning, the Foreign Legionnaires prepare to make their jump into Dien Bien Phu. However, Monet receives word that the station has already fallen; the French have lost the battle. Monet announces the loss to his men. At the same time, Gilbert MacWhite arrives as a foreign observer and asks Monet why the French lost. To help Monet save face in front of his men, Tex takes MacWhite aside and explains that the French don’t know why they’re losing. The Communists are fighting an unconventional war and the French army doesn’t know how to adjust.
Despite better technology and better funding, the French are outmatched by Communist fighters. This suggests that the Communists fight in a manner that takes advantage of Vietnam’s unique environment and allows them to challenge a more powerful opponent. This alludes to the fact that Western Capitalists cannot defeat the Communists through conventional means, militarily, politically, or financially.
Themes
Monet announces that the Communists will keep pressing toward Hanoi, and MacWhite decides he will stay with the Legionnaires to see the fighting for himself, since he fears this same fight may come to Sarkhan next. Over the next several weeks, Monet leads the Foreign Legionnaires into dozens of well-executed deployments, all of which end in defeat. The Communists only fight at night, and somehow they always know where the Legionnaires will be or manage to place soldiers behind French defensive lines. Hanoi fills with refugees, and everyone senses that the city will soon be lost.
Again, though Monet’s tactics should be successful, he and his skilled fighters are consistently beaten, indicating that the Communists are fighting in an unconventional, though more effective, way. The Communists’ method of only fighting at night suggests that they use deception and subterfuge, much like the Russian diplomats use subterfuge and espionage to combat Western Capitalism.
Themes
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After three weeks of devastating losses, Monet, Tex, and MacWhite spend an afternoon drinking together. Tex cautiously raises an idea he’s been formulating for some time. He suggests to Monet that the reason they keep losing isn’t due to the quality of their soldiers or strategies, but because the Communists fight by entirely different rules. He remembers a book that Mao Tse-tung wrote on warfare, and suggests they look to his ideas to understand why the Communists keep winning. MacWhite agrees with the idea, but Monet thinks that Mao could not possibly add anything to the philosophy of war; French writers have already said all there is to say on the subject.
Monet’s reticence to consider Communist military tactics, even though Tex and MacWhite think they may be valuable, suggests that ego and adherence to Western tradition can keep people from considering alternative theories of war or politics. Monet’s feeling that French writers have already had the last word on warfare belies his sense of cultural superiority, believing that Eastern countries could not add anything worthwhile to the conversation.
Themes
Tex says he’ll list off some of Mao’s ideas and Monet can at least tell him if they have any precedent in French military history. They spend the next eight hours discussing Mao’s tactics on warfare, such as using villagers as double agents in advance of any skirmish. MacWhite and Tex think Monet is ready to admit that they should try Mao’s tactics, but Monet hesitates, continually falling back on French tradition. At last, Monet says he’s heard enough—they don’t have time to change their entire military strategy.
Again, Monet’s resistance to change suggests that ego and belief in one’s cultural superiority can make it difficult for one to defy tradition and explore new ideas. Notably, Mao’s military tactics rely on espionage and deception in the same way that Communist politics rely on spies, propaganda campaigns, and deception (such as in the rice incident during Sears’s tenure).
Themes
A runner arrives and announces that the Communists are beginning their assault on Hanoi. The next three weeks are hellish. Both Tex and Monet are injured and they lose the majority of their Legionnaires. Monet finally decides they will change tactics when Davis and a Vietnamese scout return from a patrol. They were captured by Communists and released to serve as a warning. However, they tore one of Davis’s eyes out and cut the scout’s vocal cords out through his neck. Monet decides that in their next battle, they will fight like Mao.
The Communists grotesquely maim their prisoners, again demonstrating that they operate by different rules than their Western opponents (who do not mutilate their enemies). The Communists’ brutal methods confirm that the Western nations cannot defeat them through traditional strategies, which assume that their opponents will act with a certain amount of decorum and honor.
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