Analysis of the Ugly American History Essay Paper Research

Analysis of the Ugly American
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Analysis of the Ugly American
The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick is a publication on venomous satire, which describes the role of the United States in the Vietnam War. The book is an ideal category of a novel and an overt political commentary in the form of standalone short narratives in different chapters. The title of the publication refers to the stereotypes of American insensitivity to the traditions, religion, language, and customs of the people of Sarkhan as a fictional country. The Ugly American is an outstanding work of anti-war commentary. The novel hosts a wide range of characters who make minor reappearances. The Ugly American is an exceptional novel, which portrays Americans as arrogant and rude while working and living with people in other countries.
What makes the “Ugly American” ugly in the minds of the Burdick and Lederer?
The Ugly American is a fictional narrative with real countries, such as Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, and Laos. The core objective is to reveal what the authors perceive as various forms of abuse in foreign service. Notably, the authors plead with the diplomats to learn the area’s language and get to the countryside to spend less time in entertaining the wealthy Americans. According to Lederer and Burdick (1999), the United States spends more money on wring aid projects while ignoring the lucrative ones. In such a case, the authors warn that Southeast Asia would be lost to communism if the members of foreign service would fail to learn about communism.
William Lederer and Eugene Burdick explore the nature of the Cold War during the history of the United States. The Cold War ended with final years, which lasted from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Arguably, the Soviet Union lost its position as a superpower and a threat of the communist empire during the end of the Cold War. Therefore, the Ugly American novel is a form of warning to the United States and a reminder of the influence of communism. Besides, the authors use vignettes as parables to portray American foreign dignitaries as arrogant fools who even ignore the set local customs but represent the interests of the United States in a perfect way (Lederer & Burdick, 1999). Since the American diplomats, who serve in Sarkhan, lack comprehensive language about the country’s language and culture, they are ineffective in addressing the needs of the people. For that reason, the United States was likely to lose the Cold War.
Equally, the authors reveal the rampant ineptitude and arrogance of the American diplomatic off...