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
At a dinner party honoring Ambassador MacWhite, famous Burmese journalist U Maung Swe answers questions about why America so quickly lost its “prestige” in Southeast Asia. He states that although he generally dislikes Russians and appreciates Americans, the Russians he meets serving abroad are excellent people, while the Americans abroad are loud, boorish, and ill-mannered. All the American economists that come to Burma insist on living better than the Burmese leaders, with servants and luxurious houses, which offends regular Burmese people. Additionally, they never actually help or bring economic change. When the Americans promised a brand new dredge to help make rivers usable for transportation, they instead delivered a decades-old, rusted dredge that did not even function.
U Maung Swe echoes Magsaysay’s claim that Americans are good people in their own country, but act terribly abroad. This narrows the novel’s criticism from Americans in general to specifically the Americans working in the Foreign Service. U Maung Swe’s anecdote about the the old dredge suggests that Americans offer countries like Burma second-rate help and technology. This again suggests that the Americans tend to think of themselves as superior to people from other nations, since they give others what they would not accept themselves.
Themes
U Maung Swe explains that Burma eventually rejected all American aid because its people grew tired of the Americans’ “superior airs” and habit of leveraging aid to bully Burma. However, U Maung Swe says that American technical assistance would be welcome if they would go about it the way the Ford Foundation did in Indonesia. He recounts that the Ford Foundation brings a group of Indonesians to America and lets them decide what they want to learn about, whatever they think would be most useful in their country. When the Indonesians decide they want a garage to train mechanics, the Ford Foundation builds one in Indonesia and supplies American mechanics to train Indonesians. Once the Indonesians can operate on their own, the Americans go home.
Again, U Maung Swe suggests that Americans’ self-superiority is deeply offensive to the local people, whether the Americans realize it or not. The Ford Foundation models effective and sustainable development by allowing the Burmese to choose what developments they want for themselves (rather than the Americans patronizingly telling them what is best), showing them how to do it, and then leaving them alone to carry their new developments on themselves, thus leaving them independent and self-determining.
Themes
U Maung Swe recalls an American couple, the Martins, who speak Burmese and move into a small village. The other villagers notice that the Martins’ garden is massive and that they can their extra vegetables, preserving them. The Martins teach the villagers how to can food and distribute healthy seeds, and the village sets up a small canning industry as a result. U Maung Swe states that the Martins came to Burma to help people, not to increase their own standard of living. He says that if he were the President of the United States, he would get rid of the embassies and commissaries and make the entire Foreign Service into people like the Martins.
The Martins join Father Finian and John Colvin in representing grassroots development, which the novel argues is far more practical and welcomed by the local people. U Maung Swe’s statement that if he were President, he would make the entire Foreign Service into people like the Martins suggests that quiet, humble, productive Americans can do far more to elevate America’s international reputation than massive embassies or charismatic diplomats can.
Themes
U Maung Swe explains that the Russians are superior diplomats because they live quietly and humbly, speak Burmese, are well-educated on local history and culture, and employ only Russian servants. Although Russian economic aid is not any better than American, the Russians promise aid for simple things that common people understand, thus making it better propaganda. The Russians enthusiastically participate in Burma’s cultural events and celebrations, while the Americans never bother, and they spend time in the rural regions. U Maung Swe estimates that 90 percent of Russian diplomats act like “dedicated professionals,” while he can only recall four Americans out of hundreds who acted professionally.
Along with being more professional and better-educated diplomats, the Russians understand how to shape the local population’s perception to their own advantage, demonstrating how critical perception is to foreign diplomacy. Additionally, the Russians celebrate alongside the Burmese and participate in their culture, suggesting that effective diplomats cannot simply exist in another country, but must take on its cultural traditions, its beliefs, and embrace its people.
Themes
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After the dinner party, MacWhite walks with U Maung Swe and asks for his advice on how to lead the Americans in Sarkhan. U Maung Swe tells him about John Colvin, whom the Communists framed with false rape allegations. He admires Colvin’s ideas and recommends that MacWhite try to bring him to Sarkhan to work for him.
U Maung Swe’s admiration for John Colvin suggests that, if given the chance, Colvin could have become a successful grassroots developer, benefited the local people, and strengthened the relationship between America and Sarkhan.
Themes
