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Abstract

This dissertation will explore the politics of Robert A. Heinlein and how they are represented in the novels Methuselah's Children (1958), Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) and Double Star (1956). Heinlein was predominantly known for a series of juvenile novels built around the bildungsroman form (Williamson, 1978, p. 18), however the publication of Starship Troopers (1959) brought a storm of controversy and accusations of fascism (Showalter, 1958, p. 113). Chapter One, the Heirs of Patrick Henry, will explore how Heinlein's protagonists can be seen to represent his personal ideology by examining Alexei Panshin's model of the 'Heinlein Individual'. It will demonstrate that the 'Heinlein Individual' identified by Panshin, and particularly the role of the mentor, are utilised by Heinlein to promote the attributes he deems desirable for the appropriate evolution of mankind. It will also show how Heinlein's socio-political views concerning the improvement of mankind, represented by the protagonists of Methuselah's Children, Citizen of the Galaxy and Double Star, are linked by critics to political ideologies such as the Nietzschean übermensch, Darwinism and Calvinism. All three philosophies have been connected by critics or historians to either National Socialism or fascism.

Chapter Two, Taking Liberty, will explore the interaction of the Heinlein Individual with societies. It will demonstrate that the importance Heinlein gives to individual freedom can be controversial when Heinlein's concept of the advancement of mankind is served by restricting freedom to a small elite group. It will show how Heinlein's version of Darwinism, when applied to a society, promotes the idea that 'might makes right' and that weakness, in any form, must be rejected. Chapter Two will display how Heinlein concentrates power in the hands of these elite groups via a string of anti-democratic practices and that the forceful exclusion of all others reveals that, far from advancing all of mankind, Heinlein’s ideology is only concerned with a small subsection of it that represents something of a 'master race'.

Course: English Language and Literature - BA (Hons) - C1045

Date Deposited: 2020-02-10

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13530.html