Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Which characters can be associated with these adjectives and why (with quote)? Using the novel The Third Man by Graham Greene, assign a total of ten adjectives to at least five different characters. cynical/disillusioned indifferent/jaded/candid ingenuous/idealistic/imprudent/unwary unscrupulous/amoral/degenerate, egotistical or egocentric percipient/perceptive/observant/astute wary/cautious/guarded/circumspect duplicitous/guileful/wily amiable, pragmatic, realist, courteous

Rollo Martins
Rollo is the protagonist of the story. He is idealistic, amiable, and unwary. At the beginning of the novel, Colonel Calloway (the narrator) tells us that Rollo "believed in friendship." Rollo sets out to clear Lime's name, believing him to be innocent of all charges of racketeering. In the end, Rollo's idealism leaves him disillusioned by Harry Lime's betrayal:

If one watched a world come to an end, a plane dive from its course, I don't suppose one would chatter, and a world for Martins had certainly come to an end, a world of easy friendship, hero worship, confidence that had begun twenty years before in a school corridor. (Chapter 10—Calloway's analysis after he reveals the extent of Lime's racketeering operations to Martins).

Colonel Calloway
Calloway is the narrator. He is candid, observant, and a realist. He tells us that he always looks for a "rational explanation" when faced with a dilemma. When Rollo laments the way Lime supposedly died, Calloway is detached and rational in his response: "It was the best thing that ever happened to him." Unlike the idealistic Martins, Calloway is a cynic. It is Calloway who tells Martins about Lime's racketeering operations.
Calloway is circumspect and pragmatic when it comes to laying out the evidence for Lime's culpability to Martins. He carefully explains how the police worked to determine Lime's role in the penicillin racketeering operation. Apparently, Lime stole penicillin from military hospitals and watered it down, endangering the lives of wounded soldiers and children suffering from meningitis. Calloway tells Martins that some children died after being administered the diluted penicillin, while others suffered irreversible brain damage.
Calloway lays out his case by telling Martins that they worked through a go-between named Harbin who was a double agent:

At last, we had the screws on Harbin, and we twisted them until he squealed. This kind of police work is very similar to secret service work: you look for a double agent whom you can really control, and Harbin was the man for us.

Harry Lime
Harry is Rollo's friend. He is amoral, duplicitous, unscrupulous, and degenerate. In the novel, Harry is the head of a penicillin racketeering operation. Fearing discovery and an eventual conviction for his crimes, he fakes his own death. Lime abuses Rollo's trust and misleads the latter about his real intentions.
We see Lime's amorality on full display in chapter 14, when he finally meets with Martins. In that chapter, Rollo asks Lime if he has ever met any of his victims. Lime's answer demonstrates his unscrupulous and degenerate character:

"Victims?" he asked. "Don't be melodramatic, Rollo. Look down there," he went on, pointing through the window at the people moving like black flies at the base of the Wheel. "Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving—for ever? If I said you can have twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stops, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money—without hesitation? Or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax."

Lime is also indifferent to Anna's plight despite her loyalty to him. In this chapter, we learn that Lime is also a cynic; he does not really care about anyone. To Lime, people are resources to be leveraged in the accomplishment of his aims.
Anna Schmidt
Anna is Lime's girlfriend. She is initially egocentric and indifferent to Martins. However, she remains loyal to Lime, despite being privy to Lime's criminal activities. In this vein, we can say that she is as amoral as Lime is. In the story, Rollo becomes fascinated with her, but she initially disregards his growing affection for her. In chapter 15, Anna falls apart emotionally. She comes to realize that Lime never really cared for her; she was just his ticket to a good time.
In that chapter, Rollo asks her to help the police catch Harry. However, she refuses:

"I'll never help you to get Harry. I don't want to see him again, I don't want to hear his voice. I don't want to be touched by him, but I won't do a thing to harm him . . . why, when I have a sex dream, he's always the man."

Although Anna is disgusted with Harry, she remains entranced by his skills in the romantic department. In the last chapter, Calloway tells us that Anna and Rollo begin a new life together.

I don't think he said a word to her: it was like the end of a story, except that before they turned out of my sight, her hand was through his arm—which is how a story usually begins.

Kurtz
Kurtz is as duplicitous and amoral as Lime. We can see how duplicitous Kurtz is in chapter 4. In that chapter, Kurtz meets with Rollo and lies to the latter about Lime's last moments. Kurtz tells Rollo that Lime's last thoughts and concerns were for Rollo. The following conversation can be found in chapter 4.

"Someone told me he died instantaneously." (Martins)
"I wish he had. He died before the ambulance could reach us, though." (Kurtz)
"He could speak, then?" (Martins)
"Yes, even in his pain, he worried about you." (Kurtz)

Of course, Rollo believes Kurtz's story thoroughly. In chapter 10, Calloway tells Rollo that Kurtz knew about Lime's illegal racketeering business and was involved in it from the very beginning. Kurtz is shown to be both duplicitous and amoral.

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