Possible Quiz Questions for Tuesday, February 1



Reading Guide for The Quiet American

--Guide created by Dr. Matthew Masur, Assistant Professor of History, St. Anselm College, Manchester, NH

Key: (numbers correspond to page numbers)

3. Rue Catinat: the main street in Saigon

trishaw: a sort of rickshaw pushed by a bicycle

5. Annamite: another word for Vietnamese

6. General The: Trinh Minh The. A Vietnamese general and member of the Cao Dai sect

7. Surete: police

Hoa-Haos: adherents of Hoa Hao, a religious sect in Vietnam

Caodaists: adherents of Cao Dai, a religious sect in Vietnam

9. The Continental: a hotel in Saigon frequented by foreigners

17. Binh Xuyen: a mafia-type organization based near Saigon

Third Force: a group that was neither communist nor connected to colonial powers

18. Cholon: predominantly Chinese suburb of Saigon

38. Phat Diem (pronounced Faht Zee-um): a heavily Catholic town in northern Vietnam

41. soutane: robe worn by a priest

63. Hoa Binh: province in northern Vietnam

75. Cao Dai: a religious sect in Vietnam that combines elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, and other religious traditions.

Holy See: seat of the Cao Dai religion

Tanyin: Tay Ninh, a province west of Saigon near the Cambodian border

Planchette: a method to receive messages from the spirit world; kind of like a ouija board

142. sampan: a small river boat

Baie d’Along: Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam. It is characterized by numerous rock outcroppings.

143. metisse: someone of mixed ethnicity. In this case, a woman who is half Vietnamese and half French.

Questions

▪ Who is Pyle? Who is Phuong? Who is Fowler? What are they like? What do they represent?

▪ What does the interaction between Fowler (the narrator) and Vigot tell us about conditions in Vietnam in the early 1950s? [7-10]

▪ What do we learn about Pyle in the first chapter? What kind of a person is Pyle? [9-14]

▪ How does the narrator describe Americans and other foreigners in Vietnam? [15, 23]

▪ What kind of a man is Pyle? Why do we learn about his favorite author? [15-18] Would you characterize Pyle as a “quiet American”? Is he “innocent”? [9, 12, 15, 23]

▪ How does Fowler explain political conditions in Vietnam to Pyle? What are Pyle’s views about Vietnam? [16-17]

▪ What is Fowler like? How is he different from Pyle?

▪ Who is Granger? What purpose does he serve in the novel? [25-31]

▪ Why was Pyle in Phat Diem? [48-52]

▪ Fowler says, “I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused.” Why is this statement important? [52]

▪ How are the French faring in their efforts to defeat the communist Viet Minh? [53-59]

▪ What is the importance of the conversation between Pyle, Fowler, and Phuong? [67-71]

▪ How does Pyle view the Cao Dai? [77-78]

▪ What does Pyle eat for lunch in Tanyin? Why? [78]

▪ What happens to Pyle and Fowler on the way back from Tanyin? What do they discuss while hiding out in the tower? What do you think of their conversation? [84-89]

▪ What does Fowler learn about Pyle during their escape from the tower? [98-100, 104-05]

▪ Who is Mr. Heng? What does he show to Fowler? [119-20]

▪ How do Fowler and Pyle describe Phuong during their argument? Does this conversation have a deeper meaning? [124]

▪ What happens at the fountain at exactly 11:00 am? Who is responsible for this event? Who is blamed? [133-34]

▪ What experience does Fowler have on his next trip north? What does he witness when he joins the pilot for his mission? [141-42]

▪ How does the pilot feel about the way the French are fighting the war? How does he view the war in general? [143-44]

▪ What advice does Fowler offer to Pyle after they meet in Saigon? [149]

▪ What happens when Fowler is at the Pavilion? [151-155]

▪ According to Fowler, who killed Pyle? [159]

▪ What really happened to Pyle?

▪ What do Pyle and Fowler talk about in their last conversation? What is the final impression the reader has of Pyle? Of Fowler? [168-73]

▪ What is the significance of Fowler’s last meeting with Granger? [174-77]

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