Characters and Themes Tswciftc PDF

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Summary

Characters and themes for mandatory reading "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold"...

Description

I.

Characters A. Alec Leamus 1. Alec Leamus is the main character in our story. He is a fifty-year-old man who works for the Great Britain’s secret service. He has been involved with the agency since World War II and is one of their best. He was once married but is now divorced further isolating him in his work keeping him committed to his missions. B. Hans Mundt 1. Once a spy himself, Mundt is introduced as the main villain in the story. Leamus wants to see Mundt killed. Mundt was once a member of the Nazi party before it was disassembled after WWII. His mission is to see the party’s return to power. He kills many innocent people one of these being George Smiley, another agent for Britain secret service. He is a horrible person that needs to be stopped. C. Liz Gold 1. A Jewish librarian that becomes Leamus’s love interest. She is in her early twenties making in my opinion her and Leamus’s relationship a little strange. She believes communism is the best type of government even though Leamus is essentially trying to stop communism from spreading. D. Fiedler 1. Fiedler not only is a Jew, but also believes that communism is the best form of government and fights for its spread and globalization. He is okay with killing people in order to help the communist cause. He is very much an extremist. E. Karl Reimeck 1. A man who works for East Germany but is a spy for Great Britain. He dies due to him telling too much information to his girlfriend Elvira. He dies very soon in

the story but still is a part of the plot even after his death. He is mentioned many times and is the cause of many events that occur. F. Control 1. Control is the Leamus’s boss. He is the head of the Great Britain’s secret service. He is a very proper man part of the upper class. He is very intelligent. Because he is so proper and polite, it is easy for him to manipulate people to do what he wants whether is for personal reason or for the greater cause of defeating communism. II.

Themes A. Alienation 1. Throughout the entire book there is an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Leamas seems to always be on his own not knowing who he can trust. At anytime he could get betrayed. Though he is working for Control, he still knows that he could be betrayed by them in order for Control to keep the big picture mission on track and occurring. Even when Leamas finally gets close Liz, wanting to have a life with her, she is killed. This in the end to much for him and I believe he no longer wants to feel alone so he allows himself to die with Liz. B. Loyalty 1. The next significant theme in the story is Loyalty. All spies and agents have to pick a side. Will they be loyal to one side or the other? Leamus is loyal to the Circus while Mundt it loyal to the Nazi party. The loyalty that it takes for spies to be good at their work is very strong. They must be so dedicated that if it came to the point where they would need to cut off kill off friends for the larger cause, they would. Another area of the story where we see loyalty is in Liz. Even when Leamus tell her he can’t continue to see her and can’t love her, she still remains loyal to him and loves him. Even when told no, she still pursues him.

C. Personal Identity 1. The next theme is similar to loyalty but different enough that I thought it deserved its own recognition. Not only do the spies need to find their identity in their side, but they also need to change and adjust their personal identity in order to get their work done and survive. For example, Leamus must take on the identity of a scruffy, drunk, man who doesn’t like anyone, and has a temper. Liz also struggles with her identity in the courtroom. She does not know where to place her identity to keep Leamus out of danger. How much did she know and how much did she want to say she knew? Both of these things were things that affected her identity in court. D. Ideology 1. The main factor that drives the enemies apart in this story is their ideology. Men like Leamas and Control believe in more of a liberal democracy while people like Mundt and Fiedler believe in communism. We see each of the sides and their beliefs play a part in their actions throughout the plot. Liz is the only significant character that we are told is not part of one of these ideas or the others. She is the only protagonist not part of one side or the other. Though she says she is a communist, she is not on Mundt’s side. She does not think is okay to kill people simply to further ones ideology such as Mundt does. E. Romance 1. This theme is very evident in Leamus and Liz. We see their relationships ups and downs and it develops though the story. Though there is only example of Romance in the story, it plays a big part in the plot. Without Leamus and Liz’s love for each other, everything, including the ending would have been drastically changed....