The Quiet American | Quotes

The Quiet American Quotes

"A quiet American." I summed (Pyle) precisely up as I might have said "a blue lizard," "a white elephant." Part 1 Chapter 1, pg. 17

(Pyle) was absorbed already in the Dilemmas of Democracy and the responsibilities of the West; he was determined ... to do good, not to any individual person but to a country, a continent, a world. Well, he was in his element now with the whole universe to improve. Part 1 Chapter 1, pg. 18

My fellow journalists called themselves correspondents; I preferred the title of reporter. I wrote what I saw. I took no action-even an opinion is a kind of action. Part 1 Chapter 2, pg. 28

They killed (Pyle) because he was too innocent to live. He was young and ignorant and silly and he got involved. He had no more of a notion than any of you what the whole affair's about,...
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