Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October"
is first and foremost an exciting story in the 'techno-thriller' genre, focusing on the revolutionary submarine 'Red October' and the high-tech military confrontations brought about by the planned defection of its commander and his officers; however, beyond this level it is a patriotic, flag-waving book with its feet firmly set on the western U.S.side of the Cold War. The author points out that the depiction of the Soviet Union is straightforward -- 'the evil empire' -- representing the U.S.S.R. simultaneously as backward, primitive and inefficient and as technologically-advanced, all-powerful and threatening. The paper states that the message is clear; whatever the ideological basis of the conflict between western freedom and eastern tyranny, the final argument for the superiority of the west lays in its promise of comfort, wealth and limitless entertainment.

From the Paper:

"The fact that Ramius is a Lithuanian gives Clancy the opportunity to enlarge on the unhappy relationship between the Lithuanians and their Soviet masters. Its is clear throughout the book that the relationship between the Soviet Union and her allies is that of imperial power and subject peoples - and, furthermore, that it is full of resentment and mistrust. Petrov, medical officer on the 'Red October', 'didn't trust the [East] Germans, Marxists or not' (158); Cuba is seen as by the enlisted men as a paradise of beaches and beautiful women, but Ramius and the other officers know differently and regard the 'fraternal socialist comrades' on the 'beautiful island of Cuba' with contempt (25); the Poles are suspected of tricking their Soviet 'allies' (314-5). On the western side, the relationship between the United States and her chief ally, Great Britain, is very different."

More papers on Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October":

• Analytical Essay # 89609 : "Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October"
• Book Review # 105810 : "Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October"
• Comparison Essay # 65864 : "Without Remorse"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: