Nowadays, not many stories or novels have moral lessons hidden in the ink. But all the classics do. Jules Verne's novel Master of the World, which he published about a year before he died, is no exception. It's a fantastic story that also serves as a lesson in pride and power.
It's an event story, with very (very) strong elements of idea. It begins when a mountain in South Carolina is suspected of being a volcano. The news goes wild, the locals freak out, but no one can get a look at its crater. The news dies down, of course, because eventually it becomes old. Shortly after that, however, an incredibly swift automobile is seen, and the news picks up on that. Another very fast vehicle, a boat, shows up, and the news writes about those for a while. However, when a fast submarine is discovered soon after that, one newspaper hypothesizes that all the machines are one and the same. This is widely accepted, and happens to be correct.
The main character, a detective, is one of the most thoughtful characters in literary history, and what's better is that he has a right to be, because he's a detective. He is the eyes through which we are given the main moral lesson delivered through the book, that of power and pride. In the novel, a single man has an incredible vehicle, and he makes sure that everyone in the world knows it. After a while, the public is so terrified, yet in awe, of the mysterious vehicle that many governments offer very large sums of money in order to own the machine. The prices offered go up and up, until finally the inventor puts a notice in the newspaper that he refuses all offers.
But he doesn't stop at that: he says that "with [the vehicle], I hold control of the entire world, and there lies no force within the reach of humanity which is able to resist me, under any circumstances whatsoever." If the public had been hysterical before, it was nothing compared to what the reaction was after the letter was published. That's when the main character is called to arrest the driver of the vehicle. And he gets close. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it's a surprising one.
The monopoly of power in relation to the public is the most obvious, and the least subtle of the moral lessons: everyone wanted it. When they couldn't have it, they still wanted it; when it was a threat, they wanted it destroyed. The power was so far advanced, they had no way of even addressing it. However, it was not simply the love of power that drove their desires; it was the pride of having power, being associated with it. When the public's prideful love of power couldn't be applied, they wanted the power gone. Also, they were more than just a little bit scared.
To put it in a more modern light, it would be as though someone had singlehandedly mastered interstellar travel, teleportation, and nuclear fusion - and put them all into one vehicle. People would have mixed reactions; they would be terrified, yes, but if the owner were benevolent, it would be slightly less terrifying, and they would hope that the latter was the reality. Governments would probably make a lot of stupid decisions trying to get it, because they want power. The pride of owning the machine, the reputation it would bring, would flare brighter than the rational fear (so Verne predicted).
However, Jules Verne shows quite effectively that governments would not be alone in their desire; the people would want the machine as well. In his novel, the citizens knew very well that the millions of dollars offered for the new vehicle would be taken from their tax dollars. But they didn't mind, because of both national pride and the hunger for that kind of self-image, the association with power.
The power and pride in relation to the driver/inventor of the vehicle, the self-proclaimed "Master of the World," is a little more intricate and implied. The inventor is a very intelligent man, and obviously a master technician. He could have made millions, if not billions, by using his talents across multiple industries. Instead, he wanted to rule the world. Why?
In the prequel to Master of the World (yes, there's a prequel, and it's called Robur the Conqueror) he had already put himself above the rest of humanity (pride). He had a new and innovative flying machine, and he decided that society wasn't ready for it, because of their love for power. They would, he figured, use it for their own personal and destructive gain. He didn't want that, so he flew away and didn't reveal his secret.
So basically, he already knew that his judgment skills were better than everyone else's, that he was less selfish, and that he was just a better person. This turned into hypocrisy, to the point where he decided that since society was so degraded and behind him, they needed a guiding ruler, who would tell them how to do better, and who could do whatever he wanted. His pride, his love of power, got in the way of his judgment. This is, in the end, what made things that much more difficult for him.
And that's really what happened with society and government: their pride in their image and love of power, the sense that they could do things better, led them to make decisions that very well could have made things worse. The only difference is that things didn't actually get worse, the perception got worse. The "Master of the World" wasn't so lucky, but you'll have to read the book.
Should you read this book? Yes. It's short, it's a good read, and I only scratched the surface of Verne's moral lessons in the book. And it's free. Get it, read it, and see for yourself if it's a good lesson in morals and society.
I appreciate that you read to the end. If you disagree, or think this was a terrible review, or think I'm as dumb as a horse, let me know in the comments so I can disagree with you. Thanks!
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