Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Road to Character, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Self-Renunciation vs. Self-Love
Inner Life, External Life, and Character
Vice, Virtue, and Self-Confrontation
Vocation and Sacrifice
Love, Transformation, and Service
Happiness vs. Moral Joy
Summary
Analysis
George Catlett Marshall was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania in 1880. His father, successful in the coal business, was cold and reserved at home, where he acted as master of the house. When his father lost all his hard-earned money in a failed investment, the family was disgraced. Marshall was not a brilliant student and humiliated himself in academic settings, so resorted to mischief-making instead. When his brother went to Virginia Military Institute, Marshall wanted to go too, but his brother tried to stop him. Realizing his family was embarrassed by him, Marshall determined to prove them wrong. Marshall’s success wasn’t due to a particular talent, but to the effort and self-discipline he put in to prove himself in the face of doubt.
Marshall’s early life was defined by humiliation. He was humiliated by his father’s poor choices that led his family into disgrace, and he was also an embarrassment to his family because of how bad he was in school. Therefore, his ambition came from the desire to prove to himself and to others that he was not an embarrassment and was capable of great things. In other words, Adam II’s logic was what led Marshall to success. Adam I’s logic would have been insufficient because he had no natural talents to express, but he had the opportunity to build character.
Themes
Marshall arrives at VMI (Virginia Military Institute) in 1897. He admired its principles of chivalry, emotional self-control, and honor. VMI taught Marshall to revere heroes and ideals. In recent times, Brooks observes, heroes have been disregarded. In Marshall’s time, however, people believed that one struggles to be moral not because of a weakness in their character, but because they lack a good role model or ideal. They believed that admiration for a hero motivates a person to be good. Marshall developed the desire to become as perfect as possible.
Marshall believed that even a person with lots of weaknesses could make themselves better by aspiring toward an ideal or emulating a hero. This supports Brooks’s claim that no one can hope to completely master themselves on their own. Instead, everyone needs help from an outside source, whether it be a tradition, God, family, or heroes. This belief leads to the community-oriented mindset that many moral realists have.
Themes
Just before arriving at VMI, Marshall contracted typhoid fever. He showed up late and sickly-looking, leading the other cadets to ridicule him. At one point, they cruelly hazed Marshall, forcing him to balance naked over a loaded gun. He slipped, and the gun fired, wounding his ear. Such hazing was against the rules at VMI, but Marshall kept silent about it, protecting the offenders and therefore earning their respect. Similarly, Marshall kept silent about an arm injury he sustained playing football, letting his arm uncomfortably heal over a two-year period.
Marshall did not indulge in his personal offense, enduring all attacks against him. Although this behavior might at first seem cowardly, and like an enabling of bad behavior, it actually proved to Marshall’s attackers that their behavior was uncalled for. Like a non-violent protest, Marshall’s complacency revealed the other cadets’ aggression and led them to respect him.
Themes
Today, Brooks says, people are not as intent on artificial appearances; they focus on relaxing and being natural instead. Marshall and his military fellows at VMI, however, believed that great people are “made, not born.” Through action and control, virtues are ingrained in a person. As a consequence, emotion and action are separated. Emotion is seen as suspect because it robs a person of their agency, and therefore it is controlled, like a fire.
Marshall did not want to relax his self-restraint because he saw this as something that would actually take away his agency rather than enhance it. He viewed his emotions not as good, true things, but as factors within him that compromised his strength of character. Like Dwight Eisenhower, Marshall believed in building himself.
Themes
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Marshall didn’t keep a diary because he was afraid it would make him think too much of himself. He never wrote an autobiography. VMI’s main lesson to him was how to exercise controlled power. Power exaggerates one’s vices, whereas self-restraint checks them. Marshall developed an austerity and an ordered mind that Brooks thinks is impressive in someone so young.
Like Dwight Eisenhower, Marshall feared unchecked power. Knowing that his nature contained vices, Marshall didn’t want to adopt a mode of unrestrained behavior that would unleash these vices.
Themes
Marshall went to the White House to ask for an appointment in the U.S. Army. Disregarding a White House usher who told him he needed an appointment to see the President, Marshall snuck into the Oval Office to ask President McKinley for a position. He then took the entrance exam and was received in 1902.
This action shows a combination of boldness and respect: Marshall boldly disrespected the White House’s policies, but in doing so, he revealed how strongly he respected the United States Army. He followed his own path but at the same time devoted himself to the highest institutions.
Themes
Marshall rose in the army slowly, assisting those higher up than him. He was so good at logistics that by age 39, he had never held combat commands. However, he slowly acquired skills and held countless positions. He surrendered his ego to those he worked for, even if he disagreed with them, and never had a moment of significant moral failure.
Marshall rose slowly in the army not by arrogantly controlling others with his views, but by assisting others and showing his devotion to the institution. Although he surrendered his ego, he was rewarded with a perfect track record of moral behavior and was therefore trusted with greater power and status.
Themes
During World War I, Marshall was assistant to the chief of staff of the American Expeditionary Force. He worked on the frontlines, jumping in and out of trenches checking on soldiers and supplies. When on base, he managed logistics for next steps. In 1917, Marshall’s unit was visited by a General John Pershing, senior U.S. commander in the war. Pershing admonished Marshall’s unit for their poor form. Marshall stood up for his unit, but Pershing brushed him off and started to leave. Brashly, Marshall stopped Pershing from leaving with a hand on his arm and proceeded to admonish him for his own failures. This action could’ve cost Marshall his career, but Pershing hired Marshall and became Marshall’s mentor.
Similar to his barging into the White House to ask for a position in the army, Marshall’s standing up to Pershing showed both boldness and deep devotion. Although he was in one sense disrespecting a superior, he was proving his loyalty to the army’s values in doing do. In other words, Marshall chose to be devoted to the highest institutions and values, and he was willing to disrespect anything that threatened those values. In addition, standing up to Pershing resulted in a mentorship between the two men.
Themes
Although he wanted to be promoted to the position of commanding men in battle, Marshall accepted his new position and left his unit to join Pershing and General Staff in Chaumont. He was sad to leave the troops in his unit. Six days after his departure, nearly all those troops died in a counterattack.
Although Marshall stood up to Pershing, he also decided to serve him. Marshall accepted virtually every position he was asked to fill, suggesting that he viewed his work as a duty, not as a personal pleasure or choice.
Themes
Nowadays, Brooks argues, a person with an institutional mindset is rare. People today distrust institutions and aim to put the individual first, assuming that the richest life is the one of individual fulfillment. As a result, institutions have deteriorated. The institutionalist, like Marshall, believes that society is the primary reality, and that society is made up of institutions handed down through generations. One isn’t born into an open field, but into a field of institutions. One should commit themselves to an institution, and the customs of that institution will structure them and involve them in a community that transcends time.
Marshall did not face reality as if it was an “open field” through which he could create his own dream life based on his desires. Instead, he saw that reality was comprised of institutions that transcended his existence. He believed a person defined themselves by committing to an institution. Like Frances Perkins, Marshall participated in an institution that transcended himself and required the sacrifice of his personal will.
Themes
The institutionalist reveres those who came before. The rules of a profession or institution are deeply embedded in the people who practice them. For instance, a teacher who commits to nurturing her students is a true teacher. Institutional rules are life-shaping. A person’s purpose in society defines who they are. In committing to a profession or institution, one quiets their ego and secures a meaningful place in the world.
An institution helps a person devote to their work as a person devotes to a vocation; when one commits to an institution, they choose to embody rules that transcend their lifetime. Brooks suggests that a person is defined not by expressing what is within them, but by molding themselves to what already exists.
Themes
Marshall kept his private life separate from his public life. His home was a haven set apart from work. Marshall married Elizabeth Coles, known as Lily. He felt very grateful to her for choosing him, and he cared for her devotedly. Before long, he discovered she had a thyroid condition that weakened her heart, making her incapable of intense activity or childbearing. This only strengthened Marshall’s devotion to her.
Like Frances Perkins, Marshall was private about his personal life. Unlike her, however, he was devoted to his personal relationships. He did not have an excessively high opinion of himself, and so he was grateful that his wife chose him, leading him to care for her faithfully.
Themes
In 1927, at age 53, Lily’s heart condition took a turn for the worse. She was hospitalized and began to recover, but just before being released, she passed away while writing a note to her mother. Marshall was teaching classes at the War College when he got a call with the news. Lily had been Marshall’s only confidante, and her death devastated him. This tragedy changed him, making him more compassionate, open, and lenient.
It seems that Marshall was able to be so untouchable in his outward life because he had one person at home—his wife—with whom he could be vulnerable. After her death, Marshall became more willing to be compassionate and open. Instead of closing himself completely, he opened up more to the world. This illustrates Brooks’s point that suffering is a transformative experience.
Themes
Marshall was a private man: while his manner toward close friends was funny and confiding, his manner to the public was polite and reserved. Like Frances Perkins, he believed the sphere of intimacy should only be opened gradually to people who’ve shown their loyalty. However, Marshall’s formality prevented him from making friends.
Despite his ability to be open with people he was close with; Marshall was not good at making new friends. He approached everyone with an attitude of formality because he was so serious about his work. This is another example of how serving others and devoting oneself to a vocation don’t necessarily facilitate happiness.
Themes
Marshall was asked to lead the Infantry School Program in Fort Benning, Georgia. Although traditional in manner, he took a modern approach to teaching. The traditional lesson plans falsely taught students that officers always know where the enemy is and what they’re doing. To do away with this deception, Marshall sent his students into the field without maps. He taught them how to know when to make a decision, not just what decision to make. Despite making these reforms, Marshall was still not promoted.
Marshall’s modern lesson plans resemble the philosophy of a vocation. Instead of teaching his students what do in the field, Marshall taught them how to be ready to respond to the moment. He sent them out into the field unprepared, which trained them to respond with what they had in themselves to problems that came up. This is similar to how a suffering person can rise to the challenge of what life is expecting of them, thereby proving their inner strength.
Themes
In 1939, Franklin Roosevelt was looking for a new chief of staff, the top position in the U.S. Army. Marshall was a contender for the position. He didn’t campaign, and Roosevelt was not personally fond of him. Nevertheless, a mutual friend of Roosevelt’s and Marshall’s advocated for him, and Marshall was given the position.
Roosevelt was not fond of Marshall even though Marshall was a respectable member of the U.S. Army. This illustrates Brooks’s point that great people are not always well-liked or well-known—in fact, oftentimes they are great because no one can fully know them.
Themes
World War II began, and Marshall was forced to weed out incompetent people from the army. The ruthless job of ending countless people’s careers wearied him. Marshall falls in the category of the untheatrical generals of World War II. He was a precise organizer and dressed simply. During this time, he gained a widespread reputation for his “immense integrity.”
Although Marshall was untheatrical and was performing the unglorified task of letting soldiers go, he was known for his “immense integrity.” This shows that one’s character is not always reflected in dramatic, flashy deeds. Rather, a person’s character is reflected in how they carry themselves, and this shines through their work in a subtler way.
Themes
The Allies were preparing for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France, and they had no overall commander. Marshall secretly wanted the job, and many told him he should have it. Even Eisenhower, whom Roosevelt visited to consult in 1943, thought Marshall should have the position. However, Roosevelt wanted Marshall nearby in Washington. Also, Marshall’s lack of warmth might not be helpful for forging alliances.
Marshall’s lack of outward warmth made it difficult for his superiors to see how he’d be a good overall commander. It seems that Roosevelt doubted him because he did not personally like Marshall and found him to be unfriendly and therefore untrustworthy. This is a case of someone being judged by their personality and not by their character.
Themes
On December 6, 1943, Roosevelt called Marshall into his office and asked him if he would like the position of overall commander. Marshall told Roosevelt to do whatever he thought best. Marshall’s refusal to say “yes” caused Roosevelt to defer to his own feelings, keep Marshall in Washington, and make Eisenhower commander instead. This crushed Marshall, but he didn’t show it. Even when Eisenhower returned to Washington in glory after the war was over, Marshall beamed with pride.
Marshall’s strict code of self-renunciation and restraint lost him the position that he wanted more than anything. He refused to indulge his desires by saying yes to Roosevelt’s request; he would rather be obedient to the institution than follow his own desires. This moment in Roosevelt’s office is an extreme example of sacrificing one’s desires in order maintain character. The fact that Marshall was proud of Eisenhower’s success in the position Marshall himself wanted shows how successfully he quieted his own ego and prioritized the good of the nation above all else.
Themes
After the war, Marshall tried to retire. In 1945 he was released from duty, and he and his second wife, Katherine, prepared to settle in Virginia. Soon after their arrival in their new home, Marshall received a call with the news that the U.S. ambassador of China had just resigned—would Marshall take his place? Marshall reluctantly accepted. After this, the president asked him to serve as Secretary of State, and he accepted. In this position, he enacted the European Recovery Plan. He served many other positions after this.
Marshall never ceased to accept any job that was asked of him, even when he was old and wanted to retire. This proves that Marshall did not serve in the army because we wanted to or because he enjoyed it, but because he viewed it as a duty. He accepted any position because he knew his character was defined by the institution he submitted himself to.
Themes
There are some people who feel indebted for the blessing of being alive, and Marshall was one of them. Marshall was very much shaped by classical Greek and Roman traditions; he was noble and “great-souled.” The great-souled leader sacrifices normal social relations because they are called upon to perform a great service to people. They enter politics and war because these are the only arenas competitive and consequential enough to do great things in. The great-souled leader may sometimes be unkind or cold, but they achieve excellence through exercising great power—a different kind of happiness.
Marshall believed that he was indebted to the institutions he was a part of, and therefore his whole life was colored by gratitude. Brooks claims that Marshall’s excellence at exercising power was a unique kind of happiness; Marshall did heroic things in some of the biggest arenas in the world, and this made him memorable and consequential. His “happiness” was the nation’s or history’s happiness rather than his own personal happiness.
Themes
In 1958, Marshall was hospitalized due to a cyst on his face. After the operation to remove it, he continued to weaken until he was comatose. Condolences came from famous people all over the world, including Winston Churchill and Mao Tse-tung. He died on October 16, 1959, just before he turned 80. He was given the simple burial he had requested, with only close friends and family present, and no eulogy.
Marshall was very well-known by the time of his death, but he made sure that he would be given a very simple funeral. The absence of a eulogy at his funeral is interesting because Marshall certainly had what Brooks would call the “eulogy virtues.” However, his eulogy virtues included modesty and self-renunciation, so he didn’t want praise in the form of a eulogy.
Themes
