The Quiet American

The narrative returns to the immediate aftermath of the bombing. Fowler visits Chou’s warehouse to speak to Heng. He receives confirmation from Heng that the bombing was orchestrated by Pyle and General Thé. Heng will not or cannot say which intelligence agency employs Pyle. Worried that the police will blame the communists, exactly like Pyle and Thé hope, Fowler plots a way to stop Pyle. Heng tells Fowler to invite Pyle to dinner at the Vieux Moulin that evening. The restaurant is near the Dakow Bridge, a place free from French surveillance. Heng tells the reluctant Fowler that he must eventually take a side in the war if he wants “to remain human” (230).

Fowler sends Pyle a message to meet him at his house. He wonders whether he should warn the American about Heng’s plan. When Pyle arrives at Fowler’s apartment, however, he upsets Fowler by revealing that he has not ended his partnership with General Thé. Pyle repeats his belief that the Third Force is necessary and that General Thé is “the only hope” of realizing this plan (232). As he studies a book, searching for a specific passage, Fowler invites Pyle to the Vieux Moulin that evening. By standing beside the window with a book, Fowler can signal to Heng that Pyle has accepted the invitation. Pyle chats about his “wonderful family,” but Fowler is uninterested (234). He asks whether Pyle carries a gun. Pyle says that he does not. Looking out the window, Fowler is unsure whether Heng received his message. Affirming their plans to meet for dinner, Pyle leaves. He mentions his fear of being caught to Fowler, who tells him that—if he cannot make the dinner—they should reconvene in his apartment at a later hour. He leaves Pyle’s fate up to the God in whom he does not believe.

Later, Fowler goes to the cinema. On the way, he meets a fellow journalist named Wilkins, who asks whether he wrote a story about the bomb attack. When Fowler admits that such stories do not earn much column space, Wilkins reminisces about the time when journalists could write at length about such matters. He invites Fowler to dinner, but Fowler declines as he must be at the Vieux Moulin. Wilkins says that Granger will be at the same restaurant.

Fowler enters the cinema alone and watches the movie, reflecting on how real life does not seem to unfold in the simple, happy way it does in films. After, he goes to the Vieux Moulin. He spots Granger surrounded by a large group of French people. Nursing a drink alone, Fowler wonders what will happen to Pyle. As he dines alone with Granger and the Frenchmen singing on the other side of the room, Fowler thinks bitterly about Phuong and everything she has endured.

A drunken Granger invites Fowler to step outside and tells an emotional story about discovering that his son was diagnosed with polio. The dinner with the Frenchmen was originally intended to be a birthday celebration on his son’s behalf; Granger cannot return home to be with his family because of the demands of his job. He refuses Fowler’s offer to cover the story on his behalf and returns to his drunken party. Fowler leaves the restaurant and returns home. He waits until midnight until going to search for Phuong, thereby returning this part of the narrative to the place where the first chapter began.

In the present, Phuong returns to Fowler’s apartment after Vigot’s departure. She speaks to Fowler about her experiences at the cinema. She was moved by the film but distracted by Granger, who was drunk and laughing loudly. Fowler excuses Granger’s behavior, citing the news about his son’s polio. Phuong admits to Fowler that she is “happy” (247). She reminds him that a telegram has arrived, addressed to him. As she returns to her explanation of the film’s plot, Fowler reads the telegram from Helen. She tells him that she will move forward with the divorce. When Fowler tells this to Phuong, she is delighted.

Fowler looks at his bookshelf, noticing the Harding book. He asks Phuong whether she misses Pyle. She says nothing, insisting instead that she should leave to share the good news with her sister. When Fowler demands an answer, Phuong maintains that she is just as excited to see England as she is to see America. She accepts his apology and leaves for her sister’s. Fowler is left alone. He thinks back to his first meeting with Pyle. Though his life is better since Pyle’s death, he wishes that there were someone to whom he could apologize.