Body of Lies by David Ignatius

Body of Lies by David Ignatius

The novel Body of Lies by David Ignatius explores the main themes of violence and war as illustrated by the main character, Roger Ferris who manages to maneuver through the process of developing his emotional intelligence. He realizes that there is a price to be paid by democracies that attempt to protect political freedoms through the covert world of spying. Ferris’ role in the novel accurately depicts espionage as he encounters terrorists in the Middle East. He is often caught up between gunfights and wars wherein he should defend himself and simultaneously conceal his identity as a spy. The aim is to tactically seize the main suspect that is being sought after by Ferris’ nation. Thus, this paper will critically analyze the core of the emotional journey of Roger Ferris, whose moral conscience makes him examine and question the consequences that democracies go through in efforts to protect political liberties through the concealed world of spying. The critical assessment will build upon the individual actions and experiences of Ferris to develop an in-depth understanding and justification of the reasons behind his thoughts on the levels transcended by democracies.

Ferris is a CIA covert who operates in the Middle East, and the story gives substantial details about his childhood life, education, parents, and his personality. His nature as a child positioned him between cliques, and he mastered how to suppress his emotions to prevent people from knowing his actual thoughts (Ignatius, 125). As a fluent speaker of Arabic, Ferris seems to be conversant with his operations and roles based on his sharpness of inter-personal skills and personality that enables him to blend in with foreigners. He even falls in love with a woman named Alice Melville with whom they have a blossoming relationship, but when they eventually separate, Ferris misses her. Contrarily, he feels like he was not good enough for her as his life was a total lie (Ignatius, 137).

When he gets to Jordan, Ferris manages to set out pursuit for terrorist targets who bomb the civilians in Europe, and while in mission, he successfully unearths crucial information about Al-Saleem, a radical Islamic leader (Ignatius, 59). As a part of his mission, Ferris relies on espionage to penetrate the terrorist network being governed by Al-Saleem. He exhausts the support of his boss, Hoffman, who is in Washington, suggesting that espionage could be successful when they help of locals is acquired. Nonetheless, Ferris lacks adequate information about his mission, suggesting that in an attempt to protect political freedoms, democracies can go to the extremes and suffer severe consequences. When Ferris faces the experience of seeing how a large number of people could die during the crisis at the World Trade Centre, he concludes to himself that it is a war. As a soldier, he must perform his duty, or else many people would perish (Ignatius, 156). Despite the critical role of Ferris in the mission, he is not allowed access to relevant information. Thus, he is frequently faced with challenging situations that lead to grave consequences because of his lack of involvement in important aspects, all in the name of a democracy protecting political freedoms (Ignatius, 175). Furthermore, playing a double role of blending in with the local setting while embracing different characters to ensure the safety of American freedoms and making efforts to please the Jordanian head of intelligence to help in capturing the suspect country seems to be a risky operation.

Similarly, Ferris’ emotional journey is marked by the disappointments he encounters during his mission. In one instance, he faces a dilemma situation for the lack of knowledge on how to avoid killing innocent people by accident. When he poses the question to Hoffman, the latter gives a bland and straightforward response that they pray (Ignatius, 182). Within that instance, Ferris’ moral conscience affirms to him that democracies could be willing to pay the hefty price, such as witnessing the deaths of many innocent people, provided that the stipulated goals are achieved and the political freedoms of democracy are protected. War and tension are further illustrated at the instance when Ferris extraordinarily saves himself from a severe attack because, as a spy, he has to move deceitfully while also protecting his identity, which is a dangerous move. Additionally, another point where Ferris questions the price that democracies can pay to have their way is when he makes all efforts to maintain communication with Hoffman, who is less concerned about the state of panic in which people are living as long as his mission is accomplished. Ferris even asserts that no real operation is perfect. Following the shadow play of virtual events, he could believe that falsehood was perfectible in a manner that life could not attain (Ignatius, 187). When he completes his mission, Ferris is more than glad because the operation is over although he feels utterly wasted and imagines that the void within him can only be filled by Alice, whom he loves (Ignatius, 204). He understands that democracies striving to protect political freedoms have prices to pay.

In conclusion, the operations that Ferris undertakes throughout the mission depict his emotional journey to the point that his moral conscience questions the consequences that democracies undergo for trying to protect political freedoms through the covert world of spying.

• Cited

Ignatius, David. Body of Lies. 1st ed., W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 2007.