The Sympathizer By Viet Thanh Nguyen: Character Analysis

In the U.S and the rest of the world, spies are revered by some and despised by others. The novel, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen offers us a chance to look into the mind of a fictional spy to try and understand what goes on in their mind. In most popular media, spies who are the main characters are often the most charismatic and smart people in the book or movies. In real life, spies are usually the people who don’t stand out. When comparing the accuracy from the novel’s portrayal of a spy to a real life one and other fictional spies, it can be said that Mr. Nguyen has created a very plausible character that could have existed in real life. Throughout my research I have come to the conclusion that Americans usually adopt the philosophy of out of sight, out of mind. In terms of of spying we don’t really care. As comedian, John Oliver, puts it “... domestic …show more content…
The main character for the Bond franchise is James Bond who is by far one of the most suave and charismatic characters. He gets the most high tech gadgets in history, but that’s not how spies do their work. The Kingsman is about a secret organization that takes cares of problems from evil organizations. While using high tech gadgets all the same like in James Bond. That, however, is not standard spy protocol goes. At least, from what I’ve seen through me research.
Another thing about portrayal is the reason as to why the character does something. In The Sympathizer, the narrator originally does his work as a spy due to his beliefs in communism and Man. In real life, the main reasons for a spy to be a spy are: money, beliefs, coercion and the excitement that being a spy bring. The narrator’s reason for being a spy does indeed fit the standard for being a spy. It seems that Mr. Nguyen has indeed done his research to make his character as believable as possible within a fictional