Graham Greene: The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen

1. Describe the characters.

The young woman: She had thin blonde hair and how she spoke showed that she studied in one of the best school of London.
Her fiancé: He was doomed and easy to control by others.
The narrator (author): He was a reflective person who analyzed different situation from what people said and expressed physically.
The Japanese gentlemen: They spoke their tongue; they were always with a smile in their faces and doing a lot of bows.

2. What do you think about the comments made by the author in the story?

The author made several comments about how naive upper class people can be in some aspects, especially the young woman who believed in everything her publisher told her and she would become a novelists.
On the other hand, his comments were the main trend of the story without it would be difficult to understand the relation between the Japanese gentlemen and the girl with her fiancé. They come from different cultures and speak different languages. Although it is not clear what the Japanese were talking they seemed relaxed and enjoying that moment in the restaurant. However, the couple was kind of discussing about marriage, dates, what she would write for her next novel and he was talking about how his uncle offered him a job with him. No matter the topic, the situation was delicate because of the topics they were discussing. But, what the author remarked the most was how the young woman truly believed she was a writer and that her novel “The Chelsea Set” would a success just because her publisher told her so.

3. What role does the author play in the story? How do the observations made by the author influence the story? The reader? The characters?

His observations help the reader to understand a bit better the different events that are happening in the restaurant. He also interpreted and described the conversations and actions that occurred in the place.
His comments gave life to the characters and made the reader more aware of the conversation between the couple and what the Japanese were doing.

4. What role do the Japanese Gentlemen play in the story?

They are contrasts. The author was sit right in the middle of the two tables. Therefore, he could compare what each table was doing, how their behavior was and what their goals were. Although the Japanese gentlemen were speaking about goals, they seemed to have a great time, but the couple was talking about weeding dates, dreams and ideas for another book. Also, the Japanese people behaved in a more relaxed way than the other table where everyone seemed very “polite”.