56 pages • 1 hour read
John le CarréTinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1974A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Circus
natural fear of the truth creates an alienation of the people in the Circus from society at large. Sachs, Westerby, and Smiley all find life dull after leaving the Circus. They recognize that being inside the building provides an excitement and a purpose which they cannot find anywhere else in life. The physical building represents the delineation between those who are inside and those who are outside. The people on the outside resent their exclusion and they resent the people who forced them outside. Sachs, Westerby, and Smiley all soothe their bitterness with alcohol. They need alcohol to provide the stimulation and distraction which was once given to them by the Circus.
However, this exclusion also works to their benefit. Smiley is chosen to investigate the mole precisely because he is no longer tainted by his proximity to the Circus. Being outside the Circus is regarded as a symbol of trust, even if Smiley still resents his exclusion. Likewise, Smiley, Westerby, and Sachs are seen as more trustworthy because they are no longer tainted by their relationship to the Circus. The symbolic meaning of the Circus is different for those who have never been inside. While the former employees all regard their exclusion as a point of resentment, people like Lacon regard their distance from the Circus as a validation. Only by leaving the Circus can a person regain their trustworthiness.
Prideaux’s Vehicles
Prideaux drives an Alvis, a car manufactured in Britain during the middle of the 20th century. He uses this car to tow a caravan, a small mobile home, which he parks on the edges of the school grounds. These vehicles symbolize Prideaux’s state of mind in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Testify. Though he was once a renowned spy, he has been forced to take the role of a substitute teacher and hide from his past. Prideaux’s experiences with Operation Testify left him with many scars. His body is physically scarred from the torture he endured, his emotions are scarred by Haydon’s betrayal, and his professional pride is scarred by his failure.
The caravan symbolizes the extent to which Prideaux feels disconnected from the world. Prideaux was once a proud Englishman who spent his life working for his government, even in morally dubious situations. However, he can no longer trust these institutions. The failure of Operation Testify has led him to drift through the world, unattached to anything permanent. The caravan reflects his emotional state. Prideaux feels untethered to the world and cut free from everything he used to trust. Now, like his caravan, he feels imbalanced and impermanent, unsure of where he will be from one day to the next.
Prideaux’s fading sense of patriotism is also symbolized by the way he talks about his Alvis. Prideaux speaks proudly to the schoolboys, teaching them that the car was one of the greatest vehicles ever made and a symbol of British ingenuity. However, the company has since broken apart and the manufacturer no longer produces Alvis. Prideaux blames socialism for the company’s collapse, feeding into the sense that Britain is a relic of a past world order which does not function in the new world. Prideaux feels the need to loudly declare his love for this faded symbol of Britain’s nostalgic past because he needs to reaffirm his patriotism. Even though he feels betrayed by Britain and disillusioned by his home country, Prideaux praises Britain. Unlike Haydon, he will never betray his country. He forces himself to loudly declare his nostalgia for past so that he does not have to confront his own fears and anxieties about Britain’s future.
Cigarettes and Cigarette Lighters
Cigarettes and cigarettes lighters symbolize the strength of social bonds in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The frequency and routine way in which everyone smokes cigarettes means that a quick and easy way for one character to endure themselves to another is to offer them a cigarette. This occurs between allies such as Landon and Smiley, as well as between adversaries, such as between Smiley and Karla. The offering and acceptance of a cigarette symbolizes a willingness to engage, while Karla’s refusal to smoke the cigarette offered to him by Smiley shows his desire to remain apart and his refusal to listen to anything Smiley has to say. Simple gestures carry additional weight in a world in which nothing can be trusted; the acceptance or a refusal of a single cigarette can dictate the future of the men involved.
Cigarettes can also be used to symbolize one person’s knowledge of another person. Smiley purposefully buys a specific brand of cigarettes because he knows that Karla favors them. This gesture lets Karla know that Smiley has been watching him for some time and hints that the information collected about Karla is incredibly detailed, right down to his personal preferences. Smiley’s use of the cigarettes in this symbolic manner indicates that the characters are aware of the inherent symbolism of the cigarettes. As such, they wish to use this symbolism as part of their tactics. The symbolism of cigarettes becomes just another part of the trade craft in the world of spies.
Karla refuses the cigarette from Smiley, but he takes Smiley’s cigarette lighter, one which is engraved with a message of love from Ann. With this move, Karla reverses the symbolism of the meeting. Karla refuses Smiley’s offers and takes something which was not offered. He breaks the social decorum and shows that he is not willing to adhere to the same rules as Smiley. Karla defies expectations at every turn, whether he is planting a mole at the top of British intelligence or taking another man’s cigarette lighter. The message from Ann also teaches Karla about Smiley’s unwavering love for Ann, compelling him to orchestrate the affair between Ann and Haydon. The cigarette lighter shows that Karla is an unbound opportunist who uses everything to his advantage.
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