Graham Greene is known for his novels about expatriates with hazy moral values faced with situations that require them to make a stand. Two Greene novels, "The Comedians" set in Haiti under Duvalier, and "The Quiet American" set in Vietnam in the period between the French and American wars allow us to contrast the different settings and characters and the choices they ultimately make. They also illuminate Greene's views about the relationship between poor countries and the developed world and his ambivalent feelings about Americans in the world.
We will read each novel and follow it with a screening of the related Hollywood film(s). The films are "The Comedians" (1967) and the two versions of The Quiet American (1958 and 2002). The two Quiet American versions are far, far apart, showing the evolution of Hollywood's attitudes about America and her place in the world.
