Greeneland Unorthodoxies In Graham Greene’s Novels

Graham Greene (1902-1991) is one of the most important British writers in thetwentieth century, who is sometimes dubbed as religious novelist, political novelist andsocial novelist. To many, he is the epitome of the “Catholic novelist”. However, Greene’sworks often depict arid and bleak settings and portray sinful characters tramped in the faithand moral crisis. Through his works, Greene formed a unique world of hisown—“Greeneland”, which is characterized by unorthodox impulses. This thesis intends toreveal Greene’s uniquely unorthodox approach towards religion, morality and politics inGreeneland on the basis of an analysis of three of his major works, namely, The Power andthe Glory, The Quiet American and The Human Factor.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces the works and lifeof Graham Greene, summarizes the characteristics of Greene’s critical reception both athome and abroad and puts forwards the thesis’ purpose. Chapter Two begins with anintroduction of Greene’s involvement in religion and the novel The Power and the Glory,and then it analyzes the radically unorthodox attitudes on matters of faith as they areembodied by the police lieutenant and the nameless priest. Chapter Three takes a look atThe Quiet American in which Greene gave expression to a long-held interest in such moralissues as innocence. With a detailed analysis of the moral attitudes embodied by Pyle,Fowler and the Vietnamese girl—Phuong, I examine Greene’s unique perspective onmorality. Chapter Four introduces Greene’s treatment of politics in The Human Factor.Through the views of two characters—Daintry and Castle, the novel throws light onGreene’s attitude towards matters like political allegiance to one’s country. Chapter Five isthe Conclusion, which points out that Greene’s unorthodox views reflect his views of novelwriting. Finally, it is contended that the humanistic ideas underlying Greene’s manyunorthodoxies add a unique charm to his works.