Cheap believed that to keep the castaways from turning on each other, that they needed rules and a rigid structure, and he consequently tried to adhere to the Articles of War. What do you think of his approach to the situation?
I absolutely agree that they rules and structure are necessary to keep from devolving into chaos. Cheap utilized the Articles of War because it was probably the only firm written guidelines he had.
It probably would have helped if they hadn’t had so much alcohol available.
It was also telling that once starvation hit, rules went out the window for many and it was each for himself.
I think in a dire situation you do need rules but you need everyone to be heard and agree to them. I think the articles of war probably felt inadequate and too authoritarian considering their situation, if Cheap could have adapted the rules to their unique situation he probably would have faired better in his leadership and control if the men.
I agree. at times I felt this book very much compared to "Lord of the Flies’. It shows humans being reduced to their raw selves in trying to survive.
I think he was correct; he just didn’t go about it in a way that would bring folks together. The way he implemented the rules led to more discontent than necessary and ultimately to the mutiny itself.
Hmm, rules were necessary, but the Articles of War probably weren’t all the right ones. Starvation and sickness meant all rules were now “negotiable”.
Well, rules and structure can certainly be good if all involved are part of the decision-making process. The “Articles of War” were created by maritime authorities. In a normal situation, they were probably reasonable. However, on deserted, ship-wrecked island, I think survival should have been key and all working together to figure out how to handle their situation and somehow get back to England. Cheap was a dictator and forced the men into submission which was not going to have a good ending.
I agree that you need structure and rules to keep order, however, he may at one point wanted to look at his surroundings and updated the rules or had the men come together to make some of the decisions.