Title of Book: Hunt for Red October

Author: Tom Clancy                                                                                                            

Publisher: Berkley Publishing                           

 

1.  My artwork is sufficiently bad that I won’t embarrass myself.  You, unfortunately, are not so lucky!  Get out your pencil crayons and start drawing!

 

The general setting of this novel is on top of and below the Atlantic Ocean.  The general setting clearly suits the novel, Hunt for Red October, because the story is about a Russian submarine captain who wants to defect and give his boat to the Americans.  For obvious reasons the Russian navy is attempting to locate Red October and then sink this rogue submarine.  Given the massive size of the Atlantic Ocean, it allows Tom Clancy, the author, to create a very large and interesting plot.  Red October could be hiding anywhere in the ocean which allows the author to build many twists and turns into the plot.  Had the story taken place in a smaller body of water, say the Mediterranean Sea, I doubt that Tom Clancy could have wove such a fascinating story.  The action taking place is hidden by the sheer size of the Atlantic.

 

2.  There are several specific settings.  The principal specific setting is on Red October.  Red October is a state of the art Typhoon class "boomer."  A boomer is a nuclear submarine carrying nuclear missiles which could be used to attack another country (like the United States).  Approximately 650 feet long and about 80 feet in diameter, Red October is made of special types metal and its insides are furnished in a typically military fashion (101).  What makes Red October different than other submarines is its revolutionary propulsion system (18, 57).  Most submarines possess propellers and this is what moves them in the water.  Red October also possesses revolutionary "caterpillar" thrusters which create virtually no noise.  This in turn makes the submarine almost impossible to locate and track.  There are approximately 115 men aboard.  These men rank in difference from the captain all the way down to the supposedly hapless cooks.  Although Red October is far larger than most other submarines it is still very small and cramped compared to anything we would be used to.  This means that everyone on board is almost always aware of what everyone else is doing and this sets the stage for a great deal of inter-personal intrigue.

 

          Red October, as a specific setting, is integral to the plot's development.  Many of the key rising actions and overall storyline take place on the Typhoon.  Much of the book revolves around the Americans trying to locate and destroy Red October because they have been told that Ramius, the captain of Red October, has gone crazy and intends to launch his missiles against the United States.  If the submarine did not at least carry nuclear missiles it would have been impossible for Tom Clancy to write this book.  Without nuclear missiles on the boat the Americans would have had nothing to fear.  As mentioned above, the submarine is relatively small inside.  As a result, it is relatively easy for the crew to become involved in one another's lives and to always know what is taking place on the ship.  While this report will not ruin the plot and reveal a major twist, you should be aware that the author creates several major plot twists over the course of the novel.  Because of its technological advantages over other submarines the Red October is difficult to locate (295).  Even this contributes to the book as a great deal of the book is spent in "cat and mouse" chases as the Russians and the Americans do their best to find Ramius.  Most of the rising actions involve Red October narrowly avoiding its pursuers. 

 

          A second specific setting is aboard the USS Dallas. The Dallas is Los Angeles class American Navy nuclear attack submarine.  An attack submarine is quite different than a boomer.  A boomer carries nuclear missiles to launch against potential targets, whereas an attack submarine's purpose is to track down and destroy, if necessary, boomers (81).  Many of the same problems affecting Red October affect the Dallas as well.  The Dallas contributes to The Hunt for Red October because it allows for many of the plot's twists and turns.  Again, without revealing too many key details, the reader should know that the American submarine's crew also act in very unpredictable ways.  Just when you think one particular event is going to happen (because the author led you to believe this) the plot goes off in a completely different direction.  The Hunt for Red October would have been impossible without the Dallas since a majority of the book deals with its captain attempting to locate his supposed nemesis.  To put this into perspective, imagine you were on the continent of North America and needed to find one specific car: that is the task facing the Dallas' captain!

 

3.  There are several protagonists in Hunt for Red October.  This report will deal with the two most important protagonists: Jack Ryan (who works for the Central Intelligence Agency) and Marko Ramius (who is the captain of the Red October). 

 

          Jack Ryan works for the Central Intelligence Agency as a specialist in Russian affairs.  He was previously in the military and worked as a stock broker.  Ryan is definitely a dynamic character.  One could argue that Ryan is a static character as aspects of his personality do not change (his work ethic and driven nature), but I will prove that he undergoes significant changes over the course of the novel.  The first area in which he is dynamic is his thinking.  To begin with, Ryan is tasked with finding out everything possible about the Red October and its captain.  At this point Ryan thinks in a very conventional manner.  He assumes, like everyone else, that the Red October is going out on a routine patrol.  Soon into the novel everyone Ryan works with is convinced that the Russian submarine is going to attack the United States and therefore needs to be destroyed.  Ryan, alone of all the characters and showing his dynamic nature, defies conventional logic and argues that Red October is actually attempting to defect to America (104).  Unlike his previously calm and sedate self, he must now make an impassioned speech to prove his point.  He does this on several occasions.  As the plot continues to unfold Ryan makes several quick changes in logic.  He soon figures out that getting an entire submarine to defect is probably impossible; somehow the captain must get most of the crew off of the submarine.  Once again he defies the logic of everyone else who believe his story to be utter nonsense.  Ryan actually figures out in advance exactly how Ramius will accomplish this feat! 

 

Ryan generally worked at a desk sifting through intelligence papers and now found himself aboard a British aircraft carrier trying to track down the Russian submarine.  This alone makes him a dynamic character!  Imagine going from sitting at your desk and 12 hours later being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a horrible storm attempting to track down a Russian submarine!  As the novel continues, Ryan continues to show the dynamic side of his character.  He is forced to reevaluate and change his thinking on a number of occasions.  It is not good enough for him to merely find Red October.  After the death and injury of the agents intended to board Red October Ryan is forced to board the enemy submarine himself!  In the ultimate reversal of his earlier deskbound character, Ryan found himself boarding and then working on Red October to prevent it from being blown up a Russian attack submarine.  He ends up helping to pilot the submarine and to shoot a KGB operative on the boat.  So at the beginning Jack Ryan is a very boring, deskbound individual and by the story's end he is an action hero. 

 

The second protagonist of Hunt for Red October is Marko Ramius.  He is the captain of Red October – a technologically advanced submarine in the Russian navy. 

 

          Ramius is an extraordinarily dynamic character.  Of all the books I have read in this genre, Ramius would certainly represent one of the more complex protagonists.  Ramius starts off as a typical Russian submarine captain.  He has been given command of the Red October because of his years of superb service to the Russian navy.  In short, the Russian military trusts him with their best submarine.  He even makes a speech to the crew in which he talks of how proud they should be to be on a submarine that the Americans are unable to detect.  This attitude violently changes.  Without any warning to the reader, Clancy has Ramius eliminate any potential threats to his command (13).  Ramius now had complete control of the boat.  Only now does Ramius reveal his plan to the other ship's officers.  The reader does not expect this outcome since the opening leads the reader to believe that Ramius will act as any Russian would by hating the United States.

 

          The above really only begins to reveal the complexity of Ramius' character.  Ramius' intentions for the Red October are for very deep and personal reasons.  When you read Hunt for Red October you too will understand that Ramius' goal of defection is not for any single, simple reason.  Rather, Clancy creates an image of a captain tormented by his decision and its potential consequences.  As the novel progresses, the author allows the reader more insight into why Ramius makes the choices that he does.  One is always left, however, with the feeling that Clancy is leading us to think one thing and – without warning – having Ramius do something completely different.  A perfect example is near the end when Red October is being tracked by the Dallas.  Eventually the Dallas is close enough to launch a torpedo and this has been its mission throughout much of the story.  Ramius is aware of his being tracked and could launch a torpedo to defend himself.  The other officers on Red October (who also want to defect) even want him to take this action.  Yet, Ramius waits and decides to make contact with the submarine.  Thus Ramius has gone from being a captain who would have traditionally launched a torpedo to defend himself to coolly making direct contact with his American counterpart (300).  From this meeting Ramius is able to arrange the defection of Red October.

 

(b) Jack Ryan is most definitely a round character.  As you can probably tell from the above answer, there is a great deal of information about Ryan in the Hunt for Red October.  Almost every detail of Ryan's life is revealed to the reader.  The reader learns that Ryan has a wife and 2 children.  We know their names and other details about them (23).  Much more, however, is revealed about Ryan as a person and what drives him.  Eventually we find out that Ryan was in the Marines and was badly injured in a helicopter accident.  After leaving the service he becomes a stock broker and makes a great deal of money (55).  Ultimately he is asked to join the Central Intelligence Agency.  Ryan is really a round character because the reader knows so much about what he thinks.  Clancy spends a considerable amount of the book delving into Ryan's mindset and why he makes the decisions that he does.  Throughout the book's numerous rising actions the author always allows the reader to know Ryan's reasoning for his actions.

 

Marko Ramius, captain of Red October, is also a round character.  On the whole the reader does not learn as much about his personal life.  But we still find out that the reason he wishes to defect is that his wife died because of foolish bureaucratic mistakes caused by communism and that he had no children (40).  He no longer believed in the communist state.  He further believed that Red October provided Russia with such an advanced military weapon that it might cause World War 3 between the Soviet Union and the United States.  Throughout the novel Clancy allows the reader some insight into what Ramius is thinking.  Less access to his mind is provided than the reader is allowed for Ryan, but the reader still learns a great deal of his underlying motives.  This becomes evident when Red October finally meets the Dallas.  Clancy spends pages detailing Ramius' motivations and why he made the decisions that he ultimately did.

 

4.  I am not going to do #4 as the setup is basically the same as #3.  The level of detail present in #3 should be present in your answer for #4.

 

5.  The exposition of The Hunt for Red October is well thought out.  Clancy describes Red October, what its initial mission is, and then that Ramius intends to defect to the United States.  In one of my expositions in any book a Russian admiral learns of Ramius' defection by reading a letter from him.  One can almost sense the fear in Admiral Padorin when he reads this letter, for Padorin knows that this will probably cost him his life (70). The exposition also explains the technological superiority of Red October.  Without understanding why the Red October is so technologically superior it would be difficult to understand why the Russians and Americans are afraid of what Ramius might choose to do.  Perhaps more interestingly, for those that are interested in military tactics, Clancy goes to great length to describe how American and Russian submarines operate and their tactics.  One almost feels as if they could command a submarine themselves after reading the opening of this book.  We are also introduced to the major characters on the Dallas and Red October.  This is important because each of these characters has quite different personalities and will react in very different ways.  After finishing the book one can understand why Clancy presented each of these individuals at the beginning of the book.      

 

          There are a number of key rising actions in the Hunt for Red October.  The first major rising action occurs about a quarter of the way into the book.  The Dallas, an attack submarine, is on a regular patrol in the Atlantic Ocean.  It suddenly begins to track an incredible number of Russian submarines because they all suddenly take off at full speed (which makes them easy to find).  Everyone on the Dallas is confused and more than a little worried because that many Russian submarines would never act in that way.  The reader then learns that the American military has determined that practically every single ship in the Russian navy has taken off at full speed.  All of this causes a great deal of concern for the Americans (84).  Some of the military men are convinced that the Russians are planning some kind of a surprise attack.  After all, why would the Russians send out every ship in their navy when they had never done that before (103)?  Only a few men, such as Ryan, think that there may be another reason for this activity.  The reader is left to draw their own conclusion as to what is happening...

 

          The next rising action takes place immediately after this.  Ryan, in a meeting with the top American military commanders and the president of the United States, puts forth his conclusion that Ramius is trying to defect.  Naturally few of the other people present believe him.  Since Ryan created this less than believable story his boss, Admiral Greer, gives him the job of locating the Red October and then finding out exactly what Ramius is up to (115, 145).  This resulted in Ryan ending up in the middle of a terrible Atlantic storm – something that he was less than excited about.  The purpose of this rising action is to setup the reader for when the Red October is located by the American and British navies. 

 

          Although there are many other rising actions the last one on which I will focus is slightly more than half way through the book.  By this time the Russian navy had spread itself throughout the Atlantic Ocean and was covering every major American port lest the Red October try to defect in this manner.  The American and British navies had likewise spread itself throughout the Atlantic in hope of finding the submarine first.  Luckily for Ramius the British and Americans found him first (300).  Now they needed to make direct contact with the Russian captain.  All of the ships and submarines involved are in an extraordinarily tense situation.  What might happen if one of the captains involved makes a rash decision and launches his weapons against an enemy ship?  A war between Russia and the West might very well ensue.  Fortunately for everyone involved cool heads prevailed.  Unfortunately, for Ryan, the original intelligence officers who were supposed to board Red October were killed in a helicopter accident and that left him to somehow board the Russian submarine.  All of this ultimately concludes with Ryan eventually boarding Red October.

 

          The climax takes place after Ryan and a number of other American submariners from the Dallas had boarded Red October (338).  Only at this point does the reader learn of a "curveball" Clancy had thrown into the book.  A KGB officer had been placed on the boat just in case Ramius decided to do something foolish.  The defection of an entire submarine represented just such a situation and he suddenly appeared and attempted to blow up the entire submarine (with Ryan on it!).  After dealing with this problem – by shooting the KGB officer – Ryan faces an even greater problem (353).  A Russian attack submarine named the V. K. Konovalov finally located the defecting submarine.  This submarine had but one goal: to destroy Red October.  Ramius and the skeleton crew piloting the boat had to quickly try to escape and then destroy their stalker.  It is impossible to put the book down at this point as the reader absolutely must find out what happens to Ryan and Ramius after all of their hard work!  What follows is a relatively long and drawn out affair in which 2 American submarines and Red October try to avoid the V. K. Konovalov.  After surviving a torpedo hit Red October literally "runs down" the Konovalov which crushes and destroys their nemesis (457). 

 

          A fairly standard resolution follows the climax.  Having survived attacks from the Russian navy and proven to the Americans that they do indeed wish to defect, Red October and its remaining officer crew arrive at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia.  Fittingly, given Ramius' desire for freedom (one of the reasons he defected), they still have to be worried about being spotted because civilian boats have the right to travel in these waters.  Ramius is incredulous that civilian boats would be allowed near a military base (463).  Ryan takes this moment to remind him that the exercise of freedom is very important in the United States – something that he will have to get used to.  Also appropriately Ryan is debriefed by Admiral Greer of the Central Intelligence who started him on this adventure.  

 

The theme that Tom Clancy is trying to get across to the author is that believing in yourself and perseverance.  I think an additional theme is that the people of the West should appreciate the great efforts and dedication shown by the military to protecting our freedoms.  Each of the major characters must routinely rely on their own judgement to make decisions.  Jack Ryan, for example, often "goes against the grain" and makes choices that put him in opposition to his superiors.  A poor decision might very well cost him his career.  Yet, Ryan routinely puts his beliefs in advance of his desire to advance his career.  One can easily apply this to their own lives.  How often have you refused to say something because you were afraid of being wrong?  How often have you heard someone say something completely wrong or say something that you completely disagreed with and failed to respond because you did not want to cause problems for yourself?  Marko Ramius' character teachers the reader much the same thing.  Here is a man who is sacrificing everything – his life in Russia, his career and his honour – to defect to the United States and achieve his goal of freedom.  In a time when most of us complain that we do not have the latest video game or a two-hundred dollar pair of shoes we should probably realize how terrible the lives of other people in the world can be.

 

          A second theme that Tom Clancy would probably put equal importance upon is that of showing respect for the militaries that protect us.  Most people give the military little thought until these people are desperately required.  Yet these women and men make it their life's work to defend out life and our lifestyle.  Many sacrifice a great deal.  Clancy goes into considerable depth (no pun intended!) explaining how submarine crews are often away from their families for months at a time and how the crew on an aircraft carrier might be away for almost a year at a time.  Death or injury faces many military people on a regular basis.  In spite of all these problems the men and women who serve in the military do so because most of them believe in their country and what they are doing.  One cannot help but think that Clancy wants the reader to consider the sacrifices that are going on for them even while they read this book.  One should not think that Clancy has a blind devotion to the military, either.  Interestingly, given what is happening in the United States after the terrorist attacks in New York, the author has the main character, Jack Ryan, facing a major ethical problem at the book's end.  A number of Russian sailors were still alive on the V. K. Konovalov.  Ryan assumed that the United States would try to rescue these men.  His superiors tell him that it would be dangerous as they might reveal what had really happened to the Red October.  Ryan is left pondering whether his boss, Admiral Greer, had become corrupted (468).  Tom Clancy seems to be encouraging the reader to always maintain a healthy skepticism about what they are being told