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
Louis Sears writes a letter to his superior, the American State Department’s Dexter Peterson, assuring him that in spite of the negative press, Sears has everything under control. He complains about John Colvin and Father Finian, newly arrived from Burma, and hopes that he will not cause trouble. Sears also asks for a replacement for Margaret Johnson, since she agrees too much with the “native press” and keeps bring reporters in to speak to him. He asks if Joe Bing can replace her instead, since he seems sharp. Sears also wants a few pretty secretaries sent over to help with “morale” and be a “good advertisement for America.”
Sears actively complains about Americans who do effective work while lauding his own incompetence. This suggests that high-ranking members of the Foreign Service not only inhibit dedicated and humble workers but actively undermine them. Sears’s desire to have Joe Bing and several pretty secretaries suggests that he believes showing off wealthy, gregarious, or attractive Americans raises America’s international reputation, when in fact it does the opposite.
Themes
