I think the point was that Agee, like Silk, didn't consider the possibility of misinterpretation. I'm sure if he did consider it, he would have dismissed it as

I think the point was that Agee, like Silk, didn't consider the possibility of misinterpretation. I'm sure if he did consider it, he would have dismissed it as remote. Even so, the ambiguity of the term was current in the 70s, and Agee, given his profession, probably was aware of The Spook Who Sat by the Door (book, 69; movie 73) about a black agent, the title playing on the ambiguity. The Human Stain came out 16 yrs after Agee's article.