The Ugly American

by

Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer

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The Ugly American: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In 1954, “the Honorable Gilbert MacWhite” becomes the new Ambassador to Sarkhan. MacWhite is fit, disciplined, and efficient, having already served the State Department in several foreign countries. He looks forward to his service in Sarkhan, knowing that its people are restless and that Communism has a strong hold in the country. He expects the Communists will try to stage a coup before long. However, MacWhite has spent months preparing. He is well-versed in Communist literature and thought, he speaks Sarkhanese fluently, and he studied everything he could find on their culture and history.
MacWhite is the opposite of Louis Sears, demonstrating discipline and professionalism. However, MacWhite’s character arc demonstrates how even a dedicated professional can fail diplomatically, as well as how they can learn from their mistakes. Although the novel is composed of interlinking vignettes, MacWhite appears in more vignettes than any other character, making him the primary protagonist that connects them all together.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
For his first six months in Sarkhan, MacWhite makes his plans to fight Communism in the privacy of his own home in an effort to ensure security. One afternoon, he invites Li Pang, a Chinese representative for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, to visit him at his home. Li is MacWhite’s personal friend and they share a deep bond. MacWhite anticipates that Li will help him enlist the Chinese citizens in Sarkhan in their struggle against Communism. As MacWhite waits for Li to arrive, he hears Donald and Roger, his elderly Chinese butlers, moving about in the room. They speak no English, but they’ve been dedicated servants to the American Embassy since 1939, and MacWhite deeply admires them.
Chiang Kai-shek is the leader of the Chinese Nationalists, who oppose Mao and the Communists’ spread across China. MacWhite’s coordination with Li suggests that he finds international allies to help him fight against Communism. Such behavior and relationship-building again contrasts MacWhite with Sears, who kept to himself and spurned relationships with non-Americans, demonstrating that MacWhite is a diligent and capable Ambassador.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Li arrives. He and MacWhite catch up while Donald serves them martinis. MacWhite brings up the point of the engagement: he wants Li to tell him which Chinese-Sarkhanese leaders are secretly Communists, since MacWhite has an “absolutely flawless plan” for removing them. Li’s demeanor shifts and he stares hard at Donald and Roger, but MacWhite thinks that Li dislikes his request for information. Li looks furious but speaks very softly so no one else can hear. He tells MacWhite that he is a “great fool” for speaking of strategy with servants present. MacWhite is “shaken” and claims that neither Donald nor Roger can speak any English. He even had them vetted before he took them on.
Li’s automatic suspicion that Donald and Roger are spies indicates that he understands Communist political tactics far better than MacWhite does. His charge that MacWhite is a “great fool” for discussing tactics in front of servants suggests that Li sees it as a catastrophic lapse of judgment. However, Donald and Roger have served American ambassadors for two decades, meaning they are entrenched and long-trusted employees.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
Li repeats that MacWhite has been incredibly foolish, which offends MacWhite’s tactical mind. He is certain that Donald and Roger cannot speak English; plus, he considers them his friends. Li asks MacWhite who the perfect person to spy on the American Embassy would be, and MacWhite admits it would be a person in a menial position, like a valet. He begins to doubt his trust in his servants for the first time, and  he realizes that every single menial position in the American Embassy is staffed by Asian non-Americans.
MacWhite’s realization that menial workers make the perfect spies and that there are hundreds of non-American menial workers in the Embassy implies that the Embassy is extraordinarily vulnerable. This suggests that the Americans’ arrogance and unwillingness to do menial labor themselves puts them at far greater risk of espionage and infiltration.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
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Li shouts an order to Donald in Chinese and the old man approaches. Li accuses him of stealing and being a Communist and strikes him hard across the face. MacWhite is stunned. He thinks the interaction looks less like an interrogation than than “the deliberate destruction of a person.” After several minutes of grilling and deceiving Donald, Li tricks him into admitting that he understands English. Donald looks humiliated and stricken, and Li orders him not to leave the household. MacWhite realizes that all of his carefully laid plans are ruined. He has made a catastrophic mistake; some element of ego caused him to trust too much in his own judgment. Li apologizes for what he has done and the pain he causes MacWhite, but states that it was necessary.
Li’s shockingly aggressive behavior reveals that Donald is a spy, which is similarly shocking to MacWhite. MacWhite’s discomfort during the entire episode suggests that he is not familiar with other cultures handle confrontations or politics. Although MacWhite is dedicated, professional, and careful, his ego causes him to make a critical error. This suggests that even excellent diplomats fail when they do not understand the culture, methods, or psychology of the people that they work with or conspire against.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
MacWhite spends two days analyzing what went wrong and decides that he does not understand the “Asian personality” well enough. Politics in Asia work completely differently than American politics. He requests that the State Department allow him leave to travel around Southeast Asia and learn more about the psychology and methods of its people. George Swift will serve as Ambassador in his stead.
MacWhite’s realization that politics in Asia work fundamentally differently than politics in Europe and America alludes to the fact that the Communists play by entirely different rules, and cannot be fought against unless one learns their ideology and methods.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Racism and Cultural Insensitivity Theme Icon
Quotes
The State Department grants MacWhite’s request, so he travels to the Philippines to meet Ramon Magsaysay, the Filipino Minister of Defense overseeing the military campaign against Communists in the Philippines. Magsaysay says that most Americans naturally make excellent ambassadors: they are generous and eager to help. However, when Americans travel abroad, they change. They feel the pressure to live the lifestyle of nice cars and parties, and they become “second-raters.” For an example of a good “unaffected American,” Magsaysay advises MacWhite to meet Colonel Hillandale, “the Rag-Time Kid,” fighting in the Philippines. He recommends MacWhite go see the fighting in Vietnam as well, since warfare, economics, and diplomacy are all intricately linked together.
Magsaysay’s belief that Americans are excellent at home and wretched abroad is significant, since it confirms that the political novel is not criticizing America itself, just American conduct in the midst of other places and cultures. His praise of Hillandale as a “unaffected American” suggests that the ideal American Foreign Service worker is someone with rigid integrity, who lives the same abroad as they would in their own country and is not lured to carelessness by luxury and parties and servants.
Themes
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
Communism vs. Capitalism Theme Icon
Self-Interested Philanthropy Theme Icon