Red October Analysis

2016.   Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime.

Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

In the novel “The Hunt for Red October,” Clancy uses shifts in setting and discrepancies in characters knowledge in order to convey the motives for Captain Ramius’s deceptions, ultimately illustrating that deceptions can lead to great opportunities despite their negative connotations. 

Clancy begins by presenting shifts in setting between Americans and Soviet submarines, which highlights the reasons for Ramius’s deceptions. Throughout the novel, Clancy shifts between the civilization in America and their submarines to the Soviet counterparts. This showcases the idea that American civilization is much better than that of Soviet civilization because someone like Ramius, an accomplished Soviet Naval officer, would consider defecting to the United States. Consequently, Ramius had to deceive those around him to be able to make his dream of a greater opportunity possible along with his fellow sailors. Furthermore, through these deceptions Ramius is able to create a better future due to his actions that will involve leaving the Soviet Union. Therefore, the promise of a great future motivates Ramius because he wants what is best for himself and those around him. This idea shows how, despite the negative association with his actions, Ramius must have the motive to deceive to create a better future. 

Throughout Clancy’s novel, he presents discrepancies in character’s knowledge of the plan of the defection of the Red October to highlight the great opportunities that can arise due to these discrepancies. In the ensuing chaos after the Red October goes missing, many of the characters, even some of the Soviets, do not know what is happening in the story. They all assume they are doing a routine battle practice. This evidence showcases the idea of a great future promised for some due to the discrepancies in the character’s knowledge because Ramius has to lie to his entire crew about the death of their political officer and the where about of their vessel. These deceptions allow the submarine to voyage to safer waters in promise of a better future despite the negative connotations around the act of deceiving those around someone. Consequently, since these deceptions are meant for good, the discrepancies in knowledge throughout the novel are crucial to the betterment of multiple parties, in this case the Americans and the Soviets aboard the submarine. Furthermore, by adopting these actions, Ramius flees to safety by any means necessary, even through deceiving his fellow sailors, due to the fact that it is innate human nature to flee to safety. This idea is a major motive for Ramius because he wants safety, something that all humans strive for. Therefore, these motives of Ramius to deceive are necessary because it is in his nature to do what must be done to be safe. 

Through Ramius’s deceptions, Clancy creates an understanding that deceptions may be crucial despite their negative associations. Doing this through his shifts in setting and discrepancies in knowledge, Clancy creates an understanding that the motives for Ramius’s deceptions are warranted because he is thinking of the safety of himself and those around him.