Understanding Ethics Through Literature: Character Honor, and the Corruption of Body and Soul in King Rat

The subject of ethics isfrequentlyfound at the center of issues that can profoundly affect the way in which both citizens and administrators choose to live. An underused but highly effective means of introducing the complexities of the subject may be found in carefully selected works of literature. This approach can sustain the interest of students while emphasizing the critical distinctions that are afundamental part of the subject matter James Clavell's King Rat is one such work of literature. In a Japanese prison camp at the close of World War II, democratic and aristocratic captives struggle to preserve their bodies without sacrificing what remains of their souls. The resulting tale provides a powerful examination of such issues as character, virtue, vice, fitness to rule, the good citizen versus the good human being, and, most especially, honor