Morality and Secrecy in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
“There was certainly nothing to grin at in what I saw, and inside myself I felt nothing but disgust and terror, which was exactly what I was supposed to feel: the Wall was perfect theatre as well as a perfect symbol of the monstrosity of ideology gone mad” (Le Carré 4). John Le Carré explains what he felt as he gazed upon the newly erected Berlin Wall, his inspiration for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The creation of the Berlin Wall caused a rift in the espionage society of the Cold War era: “With the Wall, the espionage industry was going to become more clandestine, more perilous, more questionable…” (Le Carré 4) In Europe an already sheltered industry was becoming even more shrewd and more hidden from the public eye it claimed to protect. In his novel Le Carre hoped to inform the public about an industry that had been romanticized and misunderstood by popular culture (Le Carré 5). Through the usage of direct and indirect characterization of the main character Alec Leamas, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold …show more content…
This, along with the fact that his father was a war profiteer, would cause him guilt his entire life (Le Carré 2). Le Carré's father was a sort of con man and his business ventures were often illegal and resulted in his imprisonment (“John Le Carré”). As a child Le Carré misunderstood his father's prolonged absences; "I wondered if my father was some great spy who went off and did nationally vital things" (“John Le Carré”). Le Carré's father had such a huge impact on him, partially because his mother left him and his brother at a very young age ("John le CarrÉ"). He was very close with his brother but they were separated throughout life; the loneliness that comes with separation is found throughout Le Carré's novels (“John Le
“There was certainly nothing to grin at in what I saw, and inside myself I felt nothing but disgust and terror, which was exactly what I was supposed to feel: the Wall was perfect theatre as well as a perfect symbol of the monstrosity of ideology gone mad” (Le Carré 4). John Le Carré explains what he felt as he gazed upon the newly erected Berlin Wall, his inspiration for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The creation of the Berlin Wall caused a rift in the espionage society of the Cold War era: “With the Wall, the espionage industry was going to become more clandestine, more perilous, more questionable…” (Le Carré 4) In Europe an already sheltered industry was becoming even more shrewd and more hidden from the public eye it claimed to protect. In his novel Le Carre hoped to inform the public about an industry that had been romanticized and misunderstood by popular culture (Le Carré 5). Through the usage of direct and indirect characterization of the main character Alec Leamas, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold …show more content…
This, along with the fact that his father was a war profiteer, would cause him guilt his entire life (Le Carré 2). Le Carré's father was a sort of con man and his business ventures were often illegal and resulted in his imprisonment (“John Le Carré”). As a child Le Carré misunderstood his father's prolonged absences; "I wondered if my father was some great spy who went off and did nationally vital things" (“John Le Carré”). Le Carré's father had such a huge impact on him, partially because his mother left him and his brother at a very young age ("John le CarrÉ"). He was very close with his brother but they were separated throughout life; the loneliness that comes with separation is found throughout Le Carré's novels (“John Le