The Human Factor by Graham Greene"Love was a total risk. Literature had always proclaimed it so. Tristan, Anna Karenina, even Lovelace's lust - had given a 'look at the latest volume of Clarissa [13]." People are separated from each other simply because of a lack of understanding or a difference in each individual's definition of life. One person's noblest hopes, dreams, and aspirations may be trivial in another's eyes. How you define love, good, and evil may very well be the exact opposite of another's definition. To a society or culture, a man may seem like a god because of his beliefs and values; while to another that man may seem like a devil. In The Human Factor, Graham Greene makes the reader question their own values and definitions as he follows the fast-paced and mysterious life of an English double agent. The binding power of love, the true deterrence of evil, and the purifying force of good are all displayed in the eye of the beholder. As Castle says in the novel, which could easily be compared to both the author and the legendary, fictional James Bond, love for anything is a total risk. But it is that binding power of love, whether it is the love of another or the love of a country or society, that acts as a stabilizing force in society's understanding and balancing of good and evil . Castle's character is as complex as his interpretation of the meanings of love, good and evil, as well as the connection between the three entities. Throughout the novel, Greene plays on the reader's assumption that Castle is not the double agent. More importantly, he is perhaps the only character in the novel that the reader immediately associates with and perceives... in the center of the paper... the ions are just like Castle's in the novel. Therefore, it is almost plausible to conclude that Greene personified himself as Castle. As Castle seems to believe he is the perfect spy or hero: James Bond, Greene also believes this about himself. Castle's beliefs would therefore be representative of Greene. Taking advantage of man's natural tendencies to apply his knowledge of good, evil, and love to any situation, Greene has created a spy mystery that requires the reader to challenge his or her own beliefs. definitions. The simple story of a lone crusader in the sea of enemies becomes a battle between good and evil, God and the Devil, and love and hate, through the mastery of Greene's poetic hand. In Davis's words, the player became "an actor who was miscast: when he tried to live up to the costume, he... fumbled the part"." [4].
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