Short Fiction · Question
How does Short Fiction develop the theme of Authority and Rebellion?
Answer
Short Fiction by Herman Melville develops Authority and Rebellion across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The narratives examine the tension between rigid authority (naval discipline, legal systems) and individual rebellion or passive resistance, as seen in Bartleby's refusal to work, the Great Mutiny, and the legal proceedings against Billy Budd.
Bartleby's passive resistance ('I would prefer not to') challenges the narrator's authority and the expectations of the workplace.
The narrator's rant against railroads, steamboats, and creditors expresses rebellion against the authority of industrial progress and financial systems.
The Dog-King's authoritarian rule, enforced by a canine army, is repeatedly challenged by rebellions, culminating in a successful mutiny that overthrows him and establishes a lawless 'Riotocracy.'
Evidence in the book
- Bartleby
Bartleby's passive resistance ('I would prefer not to') challenges the narrator's authority and the expectations of the workplace.
- Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!
The narrator's rant against railroads, steamboats, and creditors expresses rebellion against the authority of industrial progress and financial systems.
- Sketch Seventh: Charles's Isle and the Dog-King
The Dog-King's authoritarian rule, enforced by a canine army, is repeatedly challenged by rebellions, culminating in a successful mutiny that overthrows him and establishes a lawless 'Riotocracy.'
- Sketch Ninth: Hood's Isle and the Hermit Oberlus
Oberlus establishes absolute authority over his enslaved sailors, who are too cowed to rebel despite being armed.
- The Happy Failure
The uncle's authoritarian control over the experiment and his nephew's initial rebellion against the arduous journey highlight tensions between authority and individual will.
- The Lightning-Rod Man
The narrator rebels against the salesman's self-proclaimed authority, refusing to be commanded in his own home and ultimately breaking the rod and ejecting the man.
- The Bell-Tower
Bannadonna's secret design and his defiance of natural and divine limits represent a rebellion against established order, while the magistrates' uneasy authority is challenged by his mysterious work.
- Benito Cereno
The slave revolt led by Babo challenges the established authority of the Spanish captain and crew, highlighting the tension between oppressors and the oppressed.
