Graham Greene, an English novelist and short story writer.

Graham Greene, an English novelist and short story writer, was born at Berkhamstead. He was educated at Berkhamstead School of which his father was headmaster. He studied also at Oxford, where he won a fellowship inModern History. Then he moved to London where be worked as sub-editor of the London Times (1926-11)80). He traveled a good deal in America and for some time he lived in Mexico, which became a scene of more than one of his books.

From 1933 to 1939 he was a film critic for the Spectator. When World War II broke out he went to West Africa to work for the Foreign Office. From 1954 G.Greene worked as a journalist in Indo-China.

Greene's novels deal with real-life burning problems. His obser­vations are concentrated on the actual details of poverty and mis­ery. The author penetrates the weak spots in the capitalist world and explores the corruption of the human spirit. Social conditions are shown only as a background for his novels, though he does not lead the reader away from reality into the world of dreams and fantasy.

Some bourgeois critics class Greene among the "modernists" because the themes employed by Greene and the "modernists" are much the same. But Greene's pessimism and skepticism differ from those of the “modernists". While their bitterness is inspired by a hatred of humanity, Greene's pessimism rests upon a deeply rooted sympathy for mankind. Unlike the "modernists” who are mostly interested in the description of the crime itself, Greene tries to investigate the motives behind the crime. He shows that people's bad qualities are the natural result of the cruel inhumane condi­tions of life. He reveals the corrupting influence of capitalist civi­lization on man's nature.

Greene is known as the author of psychological detective novels - "entertainments", and “serious novels" - as he called them. The main themes of both genres are much the same, only in the "serious novels" the inner world of the characters is more complicated, the psychological analysis is deeper. His serious novels contain a pene­trating treatment of psychological, social and religious problems. They reflect the moral bankruptcy of capitalist society and are con­sequently written in dark, gloomy colours. In these novels Greene often comes out as a severe critic of bourgeois society and an influ­ential fighter against colonial policy.

In his novel England Made Me (1935) he exposes with great satiric forces the back-stage secrets of the black market and cosmo­politan big business. Feeling keenly the unhealthy tendencies of capitalist civilization he has created shocking and moving scenes in his novel Brighton Rock (1938).

In one of his most considerable post-war novels The Heart of the Matter (1948) Greene tries to prove that happiness is an impossibility for the sensitive man, that no one can arrange another's happiness.

Greene's well-known novel The Quiet American (1955) gives ev­idence of great changes in the author's world outlook. He has come to the conclusion that in the complicated present-day political situ­ation an honest person cannot stand aside from social struggle.

In 1961 Greene published one of his best, but at the same time the most contradictory novels A Burnt-Out Case. In this novel Greene has concentrated his attention on a complicated psychological prob­lem - on the inner tragedy of a well-known Belgian architect who is not only disillusioned with his own life but also with the whole Western civilization.

The novel The Comedians (1966) is built up on two different and contradictory plans. One of them is the tragicomedy played by the middle-aged white colonial officials - a comedy characteristic of Greene-the-skeptic. The more important, new plan, however, is the serious one - the fight of the Haitian partisans against Papa Doc's regime. The scene is laid in Haiti, in the year 1965, when the rela­tions between the US government and the local puppet regime be­came cooler owing to the uprising in Santo Domingo.

The other novels belonging to the serious category are: The Man Within (1929), The Name of Action (1930), Rumour at Nightfall (1931), It's a Battlefield (1934), The Power and the Glory (1940), The End of the Affair (1951), Our Man in Havana (1958), A Burnt-Out Case (1961), Doctor Fisher from Geneva or the Bomb Party (1980), J'accuse (1982).

The novels classed as entertainments are: Stamboul Train (1932), A Gun for Sale (1936), The Confidential Agent (1939), The Ministry of Fear (1942), Loser Takes All (1955), Travels with My Aunt (1970).

The Quiet American. The action of Greene's novel takes place in Viet-Nam, where the French colonizers are waging a "dirty war" against the Vietnamese people. The main hero of the novel, Fowler, an English newspaper reporter, has lived long enough to get disap­pointed in life; according to him he has come to Viet-Nam to die. Although Fowler is married (he has left his wife Helen in England), he is in love with a Vietnamese girl Phuong with no intention to marry her. Events bring Fowler in close touch with Pyle, a young American, who is an American Intelligence Service agent. But their acquaintance does not last long - Pyle is murdered. Pyle’s murder makes Fowler turn over in his mind all his intercourse with him.

As a newspaper reporter Fowler has always remained true to his principles - not to interfere with any events, but remain a neutral observer. He does not strive for sensations - he simply writes about things he has seen. That is why from time to time he goes to the frontline on his own risk. Such "excursions" make him see the suffer­ing of the Vietnamese people and the futility of the war going on.

Fowler and Pyle meet first at the hotel "Continental" on the day of Pyle's arrival in Saigon. Pyle does not know the real state of affairs in Viet-Nam and Fowler kindly agrees to inform the latter of the present situation in the country. The narrator of the events, Thomas Fowler, cool, self-possessed, is determined not to get per­sonally involved in any of the political issues. Pyle, "the quiet American", as Fowler called him, seems at first an innocent virtu­ous youth, who has adopted all the catchwords about liberty, de­mocracy, self-determination and book-learnt doctrines that can give a patriotic American an excuse for trying to clean up the world in the interests of idealism and big business.

Pyle gets acquainted with Phuong. He is fascinated by the girl and begins to court her. His visits to Fowler become more frequent and once he even admits that he is going to propose to the girl. He is sure that Phuong will be willing to marry him, because he would give her wealth and happiness, while Fowler can offer her nothing.

Meanwhile Fowler receives a letter from his editorial office in England in which he is told to return to England. Being afraid that Phuong might agree to marry Pyle Fowler tells her that he is not going to England. Phuong refuses to marry Pyle and remains with Fowler.

Soon a terrible explosion takes place in Saigon; many people are killed and crippled. On seeing the disaster all around Fowler suspects that it is Pyle who supplies the colonial authorities with American plastics. He remembers his conversation with Mr. Heng, a Chinese merchant, who has givenhim some hints about Pyle's activities in Viet-Nam; Fowler understands how Pyle fights for "democracy”.

One day on returning home Fowler finds Phuong gone. Over­come by anger, pity and loneliness Fowler goes to the front, where he witnesses all the horrors of war. It makes him hate the war, and he sees that many French officers and soldiers share his opinion.

He meets Pyle and discusses different problems with him. The "innocent" American maintains the opinion that only the USA can save Viet-Nam from all disasters and calamities and has the right to interfere into the home affairs of other countries. Fowler sees that this young modest and "innocent" fellow has become more danger­ous to the Vietnamese people than all the French troops, for his activities cause death to women and children. Fowler and Heng arrive at the decision to do away with Pyle. Fowler invites Pyle to dinner at a small remote restaurant. On the way to the restaurant Heng's men kill Pyle. Thus Pyle's own harmful activities have doomed him to death.

The conflict between Pyle, an agent of the American Secret Serv­ice, and Fowler, and English journalist, throws some light on the role the United States played in Viet-Nam. The book exposes the real aims of the Western civilization in that country. The political problem, however, is closely connected with the moral aspect of the question: has any nation the right to arrange the life of another nation, has it the right to decide another nation's fate?

The Quiet American is Greene's masterpiece not only for its high ideological content. It demonstrates also Greene's art of com­position, his ability logically to develop an exciting plot.

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