Man vs Society books where society is right?

[Beware_of_Doug]

@astorian

As Captain Amazing notes, you’ve given a perfect example, but the explanation is all wrong.

Oh fuck. Maybe that’s 'cause it’s been 20 years since I read the book. OK, go on.

The men who rebelled against Lieutenant Commander Queeg thought they were heroes standing up to a tyrant. While Greenwald gets the mutineers exonerated, he also makes them realize that they were wrong. He gets them to see that Queeg’s paranoia was justified. After all, Queeg WAS surrounded by disloyal officers (most noably Keefer) who disrespected him, undermined his authority, made him a laughingstock to the crew.

Even if Queeg was a petty jerk (and he often was!), he might not have become utterly isolated if his men had shown him some small sign of support. Perhaps Maryk could have swayed Queeg away from the dark side if Queeg hadn’t become (justly) convinced that his junior officers were his enemies.

I missed that, I guess. What stayed with me was the movie version’s simplified windup: be loyal to the sonofabitch, because he’s got the stripes, and besides, because we owe this Navy to sonsofbitches like him.

[Sefton]

I remembered the novel for Man vs Society, but society is right: First Blood.

Well, kinda right anyway.