Domino Theory In The Quiet American

From 1945 to 1964 Vietnam was separated between the communists in the North and the colonialists in the South. Ho Chi Minh, leader of the communist forces in the North (Vietminh), was a Vietnamese nationalist who was prepared to do anything in order to earn his country’s independence. Many believed that Ho was an agent under the Soviet Union sent to Indochina in order to spread communism. In The Quiet American, an anti-war novel by Graham Greene, Thomas Fowler, a British Journalist, and Alden Pyle, an undercover CIA agent, navigate through Vietnam, developing their own ideas for what is best for the Vietnamese people and what must be done in order for their ideas to happen. While trying to prevent the Domino Theory, the theory that a political …show more content…
The fear of the Domino Theory created a prioritization of containment by the United States in order to stop the spread of communism throughout Indochina. Instead of trying to understand Ho Chi Minh’s motives for turning North Vietnam communist, the United States tried to stop Ho at the cost of the Vietnamese people. Representing colonial powers, Fowler tries to explain to Pyle that the Vietnamese could care less what type of government runs their country, they just want independence. Trying to build on this idea he explains that “They don’t want communism. They want enough rice”, but trying to accommodate Pyle’s ideas he vaguely acknowledges …show more content…
While trying to explain the current situation in Vietnam from an American standpoint, President Eisenhower refers to the “falling domino principle”, which he adds that a communist Victory in Indochina would be the “beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences” (Domino). President Eisenhower concurs that a communist victory would be the starting point of the Domino Theory which would inevitably lead to the end of democracy and the start of worldwide communist run countries. Therefore, according to that statement, American intervention would be needed to help prevent that scenario from happening so democracy and freedom could be preserved. In a statement from the National Security Council that completely changed the American public’s view on communism, the National Security Council stated, that the “Soviet Union, unlike previous aspirants to hegemony, is animated by a new fanatic faith, antithetical to our own, and seeks to impose its absolute authority over the rest of the world” (NSC-68). According to the National Security Council, the Soviet Union sought to control the rest of the world. A communist Vietnam would benefit Soviets by setting an example that communism is beneficial to the rest of the world. Hence, containment is