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Unfortunately no one seems to realize that ”The Ugly American” is NOT about an American behaving badly. In fact, the ”Ugly American” of the title is the hero of the book, an American engineer who helps local impoverished people improve their lives; the title comes from the fact that he's physically ugly.
It's like people who can't remember that tying a yellow ribbon around a tree comes from a song by Tony Orlando and Dawn about an EX-CON getting out of PRISON.
Unfortunately no one seems to realize that ”The Ugly American” is NOT about an American behaving badly. In fact, the ”Ugly American” of the title is the hero of the book, an American engineer who helps local impoverished people improve their lives; the title comes from the fact that he's physically ugly.
Well, clearly it isn't "no one", as I demonstrated my understanding of this terminology in my earlier post in this thread--as you can see, below. However, I agree with you that the vast majority of the population has completely misunderstood the actual meaning of "Ugly American".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Retriever
It's really unfortunate that the OP--like so many people--has completely misunderstood the real meaning behind the term Ugly American.
The novel of the same name, from 1958, depicts the widespread failures of US foreign policy in SE Asia, and it helped lead to JFK's creation of The Peace Corps in order to try to correct these failures. In that novel, the hero--Homer Atkins--is the only American who actually helps the impoverished locals, even though he considers himself to be ugly as a result of his greasy, calloused hands.
Other Americans (as well as outsiders from other nations) failed to understand the natives of SE Asia, and failed to help them, but Atkins--The Ugly American--does help them. I think it's sad that people who have apparently never read that novel--or who failed to understand it--continue to use that term in an entirely inappropriate way.
Well, clearly it isn't "no one", as I demonstrated my understanding of this terminology in my earlier post in this thread--as you can see, below. However, I agree with you that the vast majority of the population has completely misunderstood the actual meaning of "Ugly American".
OK, there are two of us. Probably the only two on City-Data that have read the book.
Unfortunately no one seems to realize that ”The Ugly American” is NOT about an American behaving badly.
Much as "Third World" simply meant not a member of NATO or the old Warsaw Pact, the phrase has been coopted and now has a new meaning. Just the way it is.
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