The Ugly American

A man named Hamilton Bridge Upton speaks to a group of people who have responded to fliers advertising an opportunity to work abroad. Upton frames the opportunity in terms of the applicants finding a way to do their duty and fight Communism, while also seeing the world and visiting exotic places. 

Joe Bing also speaks. His remarks boast nationalistic slogans and promises that those who are hired will rarely have to interact with natives. He focuses on the rich social lives they will have, how many parties they will be able to attend, and that there will be no need for them to learn a foreign language. Joe Bing’s speech is more influential than Upton’s. A girl named Marie MacIntosh is there with three of her roommates. She leaves with the impression that the job will be pure fun, rather than the patriotic duty that Upton declares. When Joe Bing focuses on details like, “the price of alligator shoes in Brazil” and “the cost of Scotch in Japan” (68), he is appealing to the American desire for luxury. He presents the maintenance of the American standard of living abroad as the most important thing for them to consider.

Marie is hired to work in Sarkhan and is relieved: Her life is dull, and she believes that an adventure will make her happier. A month after arriving, she writes a letter to her former roommates. She says that she is happy, attends many parties, and is able to save money. 

It is one year after Sears’s arrival in Sarkhan. An anti-American newspaper prints a rumor that the Royal Sarkhanese Air Force is going to be evicted from the American property so that American land speculators can divide it up into lots. Other papers repeat the rumor. The editor of the English language paper visits Sears and says that he knows how to handle the situation. He will bring the four Asian editors of the other papers to Sears’s office for an interview. Sears will say the rumor is untrue, and there will be no further speculation. When the editors visit Sears, he says he has no comment. He has been offered a Federal judgeship four months later and does not want to make trouble for himself or jeopardize his future job. After the editors leave, Sears calls someone in DC and says that buying the land is a good idea. 

Weeks later, his judgeship is approved. Sears performs three tasks before leaving. First, he refuses to give protection to Finian, whom he still believes is waging a hostile campaign against America. Second, he calls a government official and urges him to deny Colvin a visa—who, having recuperated, now wishes to return to Sarkhan. Finally, he writes a report to the State Department, listing his achievements as ambassador. He states that under his tenure, relations between American and Sarkhan have never been better. 

MacWhite is the new Ambassador to Sarkhan. He is 41, fit, and competent. He is also an expert on Soviet theory and practice. He meets with Li Pang, an old friend and business associate. Li is Chinese, and MacWhite hopes to use his influence with the Chinese in his fight against Communism. He asks Li if the Chinese leaders are sympathetic to the Communists, and Li’s eyes turn “icy hard” (84). MacWhite realizes that Li is furious. Li says that MacWhite is a fool to discuss important matters with other people in the room. He is referring to Donald and Roger, two elderly servants who speak no English. 

Li shouts at Donald in Chinese. He tells him that he and MacWhite have been discussing the theft of items in the house, and he knows Donald took them. He slaps Donald, and MacWhite is shocked. Li begins interrogating Donald about his history with schooling and Communism. He tricks Donald into revealing that he can write and speak English. Donald then admits that he has been reporting to the Communists about MacWhite’s plans because they have taken his children and threatened to kill them if he does not cooperate. MacWhite is shocked by how badly he has been mistaken. 

MacWhite travels to the Philippines to study how they deal with Communists. He meets with Ramon Magsaysay, the Minister of Defense. Magsaysay tells him, “average Americans, in their natural state, are the best ambassadors a country can have” (93). He advises MacWhite to keep his staff away from cocktails and from the bureaucrats, and to let them do their work as best as they see fit. He says that he has an “unaffected American” (93) named Colonel Edwin B. Hillandale, nicknamed “the Ragtime Kid.” MacWhite asks if he can use his services. 

Colonel Hillandale is the man Magsaysay spoke of. He is a musician who loves food and people of all kinds. Six months after arriving in Manila, he became so popular that Magsaysay made him his unofficial advisor. In 1953, Magsaysay was running for president, but the people feared the Communists, who were too deeply entrenched in the country. The Communists did a masterful job of persuading the citizens that Americans were lazy, arrogant, and rich. 

Colonel Hillandale spent one Saturday in the province riding a motorcycle with “the Ragtime Kid” painted on the tank. He played traditional Philippine songs on his harmonica in the town square. When it was lunchtime, he said he was hungry and explained that he did not have enough money for food. The 200 people listening to his music were surprised that an American was not rich, and many invited him to lunch. This continued for many Saturdays. Magsaysay becomes president with 95% of the vote, and “perhaps it wasn’t the Ragtime Kid who swung them; but if that’s too easy an answer, there is no other” (99).