The Ugly American

by

Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer

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

Ruth Jyoti Character Analysis

Ruth Jyoti is a Burmese reporter who writes about Father Finian. The American government invites Jyoti to visit America and see how their press operates. During her stay, Jyoti speaks with Joseph Rivers about how ineffective most American diplomats are in Asia—especially Joe Bing, whom Asians find loud, boorish, and offensive in the way that he only pays attention to white people or wealthy upper-class Asians.

Ruth Jyoti Quotes in The Ugly American

The The Ugly American quotes below are all either spoken by Ruth Jyoti or refer to Ruth Jyoti. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“But you have to know Joe Bing. He’s six feet tall, fat, wears Tattersall checked vests. Lots of charm. […] I can remember him sitting in the café at he Hotel Montaigne. Nodded to everyone who went by…”

“Nodded to everyone who was European, Caucasian, western-educated, and decently dressed,” Miss Jyoti said coldly. “I know the bastard now. He drives a big red convertible that he slews around corners and over sidewalks. And he’s got exactly the kind of loud and silly laugh that every Asian is embarrassed to hear.”

Related Characters: Ruth Jyoti (speaker), Joseph Rivers (speaker), Joe Bing
Page Number: 57
Explanation and Analysis:
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Ruth Jyoti Quotes in The Ugly American

The The Ugly American quotes below are all either spoken by Ruth Jyoti or refer to Ruth Jyoti. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Failure of the American Foreign Service Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“But you have to know Joe Bing. He’s six feet tall, fat, wears Tattersall checked vests. Lots of charm. […] I can remember him sitting in the café at he Hotel Montaigne. Nodded to everyone who went by…”

“Nodded to everyone who was European, Caucasian, western-educated, and decently dressed,” Miss Jyoti said coldly. “I know the bastard now. He drives a big red convertible that he slews around corners and over sidewalks. And he’s got exactly the kind of loud and silly laugh that every Asian is embarrassed to hear.”

Related Characters: Ruth Jyoti (speaker), Joseph Rivers (speaker), Joe Bing
Page Number: 57
Explanation and Analysis: