Understanding Loyalty, Trust, and Deception Through an Analysis of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October and Its 1990 Film Adaptation

Rachel Collins

FYSE Espionage in Film and Fiction

13 December 2014 !1

In his debut 1984 novel The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy introduces the character of Jack Ryan as a CIA analyst and protagonist that classically upholds the fictional spy agent’s values of trust and loyalty, as defined by Alan Wolfe in his article “On Loyalty.” Ryan, not an agent, but rather an analyst for the CIA, is thrown into the world of spies and proves his capability through his balanced loyalties, intelligent trust, and straightforward actions. This thrilling character was easily transformed into an unforgettable hero both through Clancy’s novel and its 1990 film adaptation. In both the novel and film, through constant internal and external conflicts concerning trust and loyalty, Jack Ryan expresses the needlessness of deception and what it means to be a spy in a fictional story.

To further examine Jack Ryan as a fictional spy character, the definition of loyalty must first be explored so it can be applied to him as a CIA agent. For this, Alan Wolfe, political scientist and sociologist on the faculty of Boston College, in his article “On Loyalty” successfully outlines a thorough definition of the concept of loyalty that will be used throughout this paper. Wolfe argues, “Loyalty is an important virtue because honoring it establishes that there is something in the world more important than our immediate instincts and desires” (48).

He goes on to specify: “A loyal person must triumph over his own nature” (54). As a result, loyalty is defined by Wolfe and throughout this paper as an unselfish motivation for supporting something outside of oneself. Loyalty is necessary for the success of the nation, or family, or any entity deserving of said loyalty. Throughout this paper, Jack Ryan’s loyalties will be explored to determine how he embodies this definition of loyalty, and what this says about his character as a spy and everyday individual. !2

Applying the characteristic of loyalty as Wolfe defines it to Jack Ryan’s character, Ryan’s loyalties are introduced from the beginning of the novel as an attentive, unselfish balance between his commitment to his family and to his country. Ryan’s first introduction in Clancy’s novel, The Hunt for Red October, is working at his desk at home, talking to his daughter about

Christmas, during which the narrator explains, “Work didn’t appeal to him this Saturday morning. He decided to play with his kids. After all, he’d be stuck in Washington for much of the coming week” (Clancy 32). Knowing he would have to focus his commitment to his country in the future, Ryan loyally is committed to his family while he can be. This concept is continuously repeated throughout the novel. At the end, when Ryan is in the Red October, chasing after a

GRU agent trying to destroy the sub, he steadfastly commits to fighting for his life because, as he says, “I have a wife and two kids, and if I don’t get to him fast, I’ll sure as hell lose them” (479).

Even when his life is in danger, the success of Ryan in this life-or-death fight is based on his loyalty to family and will to survive for their sake. In his article about loyalty, Wolfe makes the excellent point: “When we are loyal, we stay put, determined to fight for improvements in the situations” (48). Ryan, loyal to his family, does not give up, instead choosing to fight for his right to live and remain with his family, proving that although he is a CIA spy, his family is still in the forefront of his mind.

Although extremely devoted to his family, Ryan is not blinded by this single commitment. Instead, he maintains a balance between both loyalty to his family and to his country, the United States, through his work for the CIA and dedication to the mission. The next location Ryan is depicted in the novel at is the mission control of CIA in Virginia, where a higher-up insults him as working too closely with the English (Clancy 67). The narrator clarifies !3

Ryan’s loyalty: “He liked the English, liked working with their intelligence community, but he knew what country he came from” (67). This illuminates that Ryan is resolutely committed to his country and is insulted when others question his loyalty. Furthermore, at the end of the novel, when Ryan discovers that the CIA needs him at the last second to negotiate with Captain Ramius in the Red October, Ryan accepts this mission unhesitatingly (445). Again, this demonstrates

Ryan’s unquestionable loyalty to the United States and his dedication to dutifully serving his country for the greater good, despite personal qualms.

Thus far, Ryan’s two most distinct loyalties have been examined, but not compared. The significance of Ryan’s loyalties lies in his balance of commitment between family and country.

Returning to Wolfe and his article “On Loyalty,” the modern idea of the interaction between loyalties is described: “The question is how we balance them, not how we choose between them”

(52). As a result, it is not how Ryan chooses between his family and country, but how he creates harmony between them and why that makes him an effective spy and reliable individual. In multiple scenes in the novel, when talking to a new character, the first conversation often shifts from colloquial to formal. For example, when talking to Admiral Greer at CIA headquarters, the conversation quickly transfers from talking about Ryan’s daughter, Sally, to discussing photographs of the new Soviet missile submarine (67). The seamless flow between these two commitments of Ryan’s portrays his ability to balance his loyalty to his family and loyalty to his job and country. This balance is what makes him a successful spy, not blindly overcommitted to either his country or his family.

Loyalty, however, is more than a one way commitment. It is a reciprocated idea that relies on mutual trust between individuals and organizations greater than the individual. Again, Wolfe’s !4 arguments are addressed about the relationship between loyalty and trust: “We have to trust people to find their own sense of loyalty, even when we believe they do not value loyalty enough” (56). Thus, loyalty and trust are strongly interconnected. For example, Ryan earns the trust of his superiors through his own loyalty. The narrator expresses Greer’s thoughts about

Ryan: “Ryan could not be bought, bribed, or bullied” (73). Ryan’s obvious dedication to his country is clearly appreciated by his superiors, and thus they return his loyalty with their trust. As a result, the CIA in Clancy’s novel is successful as an organization.

Ryan not only earns the confidence of his superiors, but also proves his innate trustworthiness as a character throughout the novel because he is blunt, speaks what he thinks, and has a blatant lack of deception, unlike the typical fictional spy. For example, the president trusts Ryan because the latter gives his unvarnished opinion, despite its controversiality; Ryan theorizes that Ramius is defecting to the United States, and freely gives his judgement that they should capture the sub, the Red October (149). Unlike the rest of the CIA and other upper-level officials, Ryan thinks uniquely and is not afraid to disagree with others. This frankness makes him a trustworthy figure in the eyes of his superiors. In fact, his non-deceptive character makes him a more loyal spy and this is why he is a bestselling character and an excellent spy, albeit a fictional one.

Ryan’s genuine trustworthiness is displayed in his lack of deceit, depicting him as a relatable, ingenuous spy hero in Clancy’s fictional novel. Ryan is compelling as a protagonist because he has a clear lack of deceptive qualities, representing his honest, truthful nature. When first acting as a spy, Ryan is ‘disguised’ in the uniform of a navy officer, and he consequently comments, “I don’t like pretending to be what I’m not. The uniform was the CIA’s idea” (169). !5

As a result, it is evident that Ryan is not comfortable with the deceiving methods of the CIA. He

Additionally, his lack of expertise with spying contributes to the ingenuousness of his character.

At the end of the novel, when the Red October is being chased down by a Soviet attack submarine, Jack Ryan is described as unprepared and incompetent, visibly nervous and chain smoking (593). Ryan is not depicted as a ‘real’ spy; he is neither composed nor proficient in pressured situations. He does not overestimate his capabilities in a situation he is unfamiliar with.

At this point in the novel, he is only successful because he unquestionable follows the orders of the officers. This once again returns this paper to the topic of trust and loyalty. Although fearing for his life and vastly unprepared, Ryan has faith in his superiors to make the best decisions, proving his unswerving loyalty to his country.

Because of Jack Ryan’s incorruptible, bluntly sincere nature and his consequential captivation as a spy in the novel The Hunt for Red October, it is not surprising that Clancy’s debut novel was adapted into film in 1990. In fact, Jack Ryan went on to become a major film character in numerous movies, represented by a variety of actors. In the 1990 film The Hunt for

Red October, the young, handsome Alec Baldwin was cast for the role of Jack Ryan. In the New

York-based film magazine Premiere, the article “They don’t know Jack…Ryan,” claims Clancy said, in reference to Baldwin portraying Ryan: “They didn’t screw it up too much” (Kilday 30).

Despite sounding critical, his comment was more positive than that of sequential representations of Ryan in films such as The Sum of All Fears (2002), where Clancy criticized Ryan as being too much of a middle-aged alcoholic (31). Through his relatively positive appraisal of Baldwin as an illustration of his character, Jack Ryan, Clancy demonstrates his desire for Ryan to be a young, honest, and ingenuous character. The actor needed to be able to represent Ryan as the trustworthy !6

CIA analyst turned spy that he is in the novel, who successfully balanced loyalty to country and to his family. Thus, unlike other Jack Ryan films, The Hunt for Red October accurately and most directly adapted Jack Ryan as a character from Clancy’s novel into film through the choice of

Alec Baldwin as the lead actor.

The film adaption holds true the major themes of the novel as determined by Clancy, with extremely similar scenes concerning Ryan’s trust and loyalty, yet emphasizing his heroic qualities to relate to a wider audience. Throughout the movie, many of the scenes were directly adapted from the novel. For instance, like in the book, Ryan is first introduced to us in the film writing in his home office, promising his daughter a Christmas present. This directly correlates with the meaning in the novel; Ryan is portrayed as a trustworthy character because of his balanced loyalties to his family and to his work. In addition, the next time Ryan is introduced in the film, he is conducting a casual conversation about his wife and daughter with Admiral Greer, homologous to the scene in the novel. Once again, Ryan’s empathetic family loyalty is reiterated to make him relatable: a family man turned spy. However, in contrast to the novel, after this scene in the film, the mention of Ryan’s family becomes less and less. Unlike the novel, the film focuses more on Ryan’s heroism, thus relating to a wider audience that is more accustomed to action in a spy thriller.

Although it enforces the idea of Ryan’s balanced loyalties, the film often dramatizes scenes to better incorporate them into the typical spy action thriller theme. In the film scene where Ryan gives the briefing about the Red October to the National Security Advisor and other high-up officials, while everyone else is talking, Ryan interrupts by yelling out because he figures out that Ramius is trying to defect. While in the novel, Ryan calmly states this discovery, !7 in the film he is even more straightforward. This highlights not only his intelligence and trustworthiness, as in the novel, but also how Ryan singlehandedly unraveled the mystery of the

Red October. As a result, Ryan in the film becomes even more of a superior hero, while Clancy, in the novel, wishes to emphasize Ryan’s normalcy. By making Ryan into a more exceptional character in the film, the filmmakers again better fit the novel, often slow and long-winded, into the action thriller genre.

To reiterate, the film represents Ryan as a less ingenuous and more idolized character than the novel, thereby better ingraining the film into the action thriller genre. Unlike the novel, the film actively accentuates Ryan’s fear of flying. In the film, Ryan sees a chopper crash onto the deck of the aircraft carrier he is on, and despite his overwhelming dread, willingly climbs into another chopper running low on fuel in order to get onto the USS Dallas and to intercept

Ramius. This returns the paper to Wolfe’s explanation of loyalty: “Loyalty is an important virtue because honoring it establishes that there is something in the world more important than our immediate instincts and desires” (Wolfe 48). In this case, Ryan conquers his absolute fears to establish his loyalty to his job and to his country. Meanwhile, he illustrates himself as a courageous action character. In the film, Ryan not only overcomes his fear, but also goes a step further, jumping into the icy cold waters when the pilot of the chopper wants to give up and fly back to base. By performing superhuman acts of bravery such as this, Jack Ryan establishes himself as a daring, devoted American spy. Thus, he more seamlessly fits into the typical action thriller spy genre than Clancy’s character in the novel.

Although the film mirrors the novel in that Ryan has well balanced loyalties, the way

Ryan’s loyalties are presented in the film is dramatized to better incorporate the film into the !8 action thriller genre. Similarly, although the film reflects the novel by portraying Ryan as incompetent in many situations, unlike the novel, the film makes Ryan the sole reason for the success of the CIA and its mission. In the film, it is Jack Ryan who lessens tension on the

Russian sub by asking for a cigarette, who knows how to speak Russian, and who kills the GRU agent unassisted. In the novel, contrastingly, other Americans are attributed these things, and

Ramius helps Ryan kill the agent. As a result of this adaptation, Jack Ryan morphs into the sole hero of the film, where in the novel his successes were reliant on others. The novel therefore better balanced the trust and loyalty between Ryan and the CIA, instead of making Ryan the only reason for its success in the mission. However, the film accomplishes to make Ryan a more thrilling character and thus imbeds the film into the action thriller genre.

Both novel and film express Jack Ryan as a trusting, trustworthy, loyal, and straightforward character, even if the film dramatizes these characteristics. Through these depictions of Ryan, it can be concluded how Ryan embodies the fictional spy. In an article in the journal Cultural Critique, Jack Ryan is analyzed: “As a figure combining CIA analyst and operative, part nerd, part secret agent, Ryan serves as the humanizing center of technology” (Delgado 135). Commenting on Ryan’s combined intelligence and action hero qualities, the article expresses Ryan as an uplifting, hopeful type of spy. He is relatable in his commitment to both family and his job, and he is authentic in his honesty. At the same time, and as particularly emphasizes by the movie, Ryan is successful in overcoming personal qualms.

Thus, Ryan exemplifies the positive outcomes of unselfishly succeeding over one’s own nature, to paraphrase Wolfe (54). This sensational character was resultantly readily made into an unforgettable spy both through Clancy’s novel and its 1990 film adaptation. !9

Bibliography

Clancy, Tom. The Hunt for Red October. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute, 1984. Print.

Delgado, Celeste Fraser. "Technico-Military Thrills and the Technology of Terror: Tom Clancy

and the Commission on the Disappeared." Cultural Critique No. 32 (1995): 125-52.

JSTOR. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.

Garcia-Mainar, Luis. “The Return of the Realist Spy Film." Cineaction 2012: 12, 19-20.

ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2014 .

Kilday, Gregg. “They Don't Know Jack…Ryan." Premiere 14.11 (2001): 30-35. New York:

Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc, 2001.

Krantz, James. "Leadership, Betrayal and Adaptation." Human Relations 59.2 (2006): 221-40.

ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

The Hunt for Red October. Dir. John McTiernan. Perf. Alec Baldwin. Paramount Pictures, 1990.

Film.

Wolfe, Alan. "On Loyalty." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 21.4 (1997): 46-48, 50-56. JSTOR.

Web. 01 Nov. 2014.