The Ugly American

Russia and America are both struggling to maintain control of Sarkhan and other countries in Southeast Asia. America’s goal is to stop the spread of Communism and prevent Russia from gaining more allies. The threat of Communism presents through various viewpoints in the novel. Finian “knew that Communism was the face of the devil” (35). He views Communism as a literal evil, which is logical when faced with events like the famines and millions of deaths created by Joseph Stalin’s goal of a Communist state. Greedy Americans like Sears see Communism as a threat to their own enrichment, given its opposition to Capitalism. The eight men who work with Finian view Communism as an obstacle to religious freedom, given that the state could then mandate the common faith or abolish faith entirely. 

America’s stance on Communism is that it is a tent of Russian politics, and Russia is their enemy during the Cold War. To fight against Communism, for the American military, is to fight against Russia, even though there are other Communist nations that do not provoke American ire. However, for most of the people in Sarkhan, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the reality of Communism is not as important as the daily struggle of finding food and work.