In doing so, Le Carré moves away from the action-packed, glamorous world created by blockbusters like James Bond, and delves into the ramifications of political ideologies as the end justifies the means. With the Cold War becoming a significant political battle between the United States and the Soviet Union, society was plagued by the presence of competition between their two political doctrines: democracy and communism, East and West. Le Carré explores this oppositional division through the extended metaphor of binary opposites hot and cold. The cyclical form of the novel provides a physical example of the metaphor as the novel begins and ends at the Berlin Wall, the tangible symbol of the division between East and West. Furthermore, the protagonist Leamas is portrayed as a “prisoner” of the ideologies that encompass his work. Tenacious and cynical, Leamas's devotion to his work has allowed him to block the moral and ethical questions raised by his work. As Liz questions his strong position, Leamas becomes defensive and justifies that his morals are based on rationality: “I think an eleven o'clock bus will take me to Hammersmith. I don't think it's led by Santa Claus." This characterizes Leamas as a cold character as his loyalty to his job prevents him from developing ethical considerations or deep bonds with others like Liz. It's not until a