NationMaster - Encyclopedia: King Rat (1962 novel)

King Rat is a 1962 novel by James Clavell. Set during World War II, Clavell's literary debut describes the struggle for survival of British, Australian and American prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Singapore — a description informed by Clavell's own three-year experience as a prisoner in the notorious Changi Prison camp. Clavell was one of 10,000 survivors of the 150,000 prisoners held there. One of the major characters, "Peter Marlowe," is based upon Clavell's younger self. King Rat is the first book written towards Clavell's Magnum Opus, the Asian Saga. Several main characters from King Rat would again appear in Noble House. Image File history File links JamesClavell_KingRat. ... James Clavell in 1986 James Clavell (10 October 1924 â€“ 7 September 1994) was a novelist, screenwriter, and World War II POW, who was famous for books such as Shogun, and such films as The Great Escape and To Sir, with Love. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Asian Saga is a series of six novels written by James Clavell in the later 20th century. ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... This article is about a novel. ... Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963. ... For the 1962 James Clavell novel, see King Rat King Rat is the 1998 debut novel by China Miéville. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... James Clavell in 1986 James Clavell (10 October 1924 â€“ 7 September 1994) was a novelist, screenwriter, and World War II POW, who was famous for books such as Shogun, and such films as The Great Escape and To Sir, with Love. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Changi chapel, built by Australian POWs in 1944, later relocated to Duntroon, Canberra Changi Prison (Simplified Chinese: æ¨Ÿå®œç›‘ç‹±) is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. ... Peter Marlowe is a character in the James Clavell novels King Rat and Noble House. ... The Asian Saga is a series of six novels written by James Clavell in the later 20th century. ... Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963. ...

Plot summary

Peter Marlowe, a young British lieutenant enters the camp and finds himself in the middle of a power struggle between Robin Grey, a British officer & Provost Marshal and the "King", a street smart American corporal. Grey is attempting to maintain strict military discipline and organized cooperation among the prisoners as the means for their survival. The King is the camp's resident "capitalist, living by a code of self-reliance, free-trade and rugged-individualism. Lieutenant is a military, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police (often called the provost). ... Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries, police forces or other uniformed organizations around the world. ... In international trade, free trade is an idealized market model, often stated as a political objective, in which trade of goods and services between countries flows unhindered by government-imposed prices. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook, that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ...

Despite being only an enlisted man and a civilian without distinction in life, the King has become a major power in the enclosed society of the P.O.W. camp through his wits, charisma and intelligence. Trading with Korean guards and various other prisoners for food, clothing, information, and what few luxuries are available, the King keeps himself and his men alive. Feeling that the discipline and cooperation insisted upon by Grey is useless in their brutal situation, the King rebels against Grey and induces the morally upright Marlowe to his aid.

Grey is a legal positivist, following the rules for their own sake, and using his position as Provost Marshal in an attempt to gain the status unreachable to him in British society. Legal positivism is a school of thought in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ...

Marlowe is initially put-off by the King but begins to understand that the philosophy that he lives by is not the dog-eat-dog that Grey would have them believe. Rather, the King asks for the best of each man and rewards them accordingly, irrespective of class or position.

In is interesting to note that the story of King Rat continues in Noble House where Marlowe (Clavell) is a writer visiting Hong Kong for research and Grey is a British Spy for Communist Russia, and a traitor to all in his life, including himself. Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963. ...

Characters in "King Rat"

Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2005 est. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Changi is an area to the east of Singapore. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Main themes

The novel can be understood an examination of the ethics of individualism and natural law in opposition to collectivism and legal positivism. In this sense the novel takes on a certain amount of political significance in that it establishes two forms of political ideology that Clavell would explore in his entire Asian Saga series. The King relies on free trade to survive, in which he reaps the most reward, although he does help all the men who are associated with him. While the system Grey attempts to enforce is one of Socialistic equality in that every man would only get what was rationed by their captors. Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of value or quality. ... Natural law (Latin jus naturale) is law that exists independently of the positive law of a given political order, society or nation-state. ... Collectivism is a term used to describe any doctrine that stresses the importance of a collective, rather than the importance of the individual. ... Legal positivism is a school of thought in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. ...

In recent years, some critics have compared the philosophy and character of the King to that of Ayn Rand's Howard Roark from The Fountainhead. Clavell himself lent credence to this claim by sending Ayn Rand a copy of Noble House in 1981 with the following inscription - "This is for Ayn Rand – one of the real, true talents on this earth for which many, many thanks. James C, New York, 2 Sept 81. The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand (ISBN 0452283760). ... The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. ...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

A film adaptation was released in 1965, the first of several of Clavell's novels to be so adapted. The character of the King was altered to Clavell's dismay, to make him more "understandable" to an American audience. King Rat is a 1965 film version of the James Clavell novel King Rat. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Trivia

Years later, King Rat was retroactively made part of Clavell's sweeping Asian Saga series. The Asian Saga is a series of six novels written by James Clavell in the later 20th century. ...

External links

Categories: 1962 novels | Asian Saga novels | World War II novels The Asian Saga is a series of six novels written by James Clavell in the later 20th century. ... James Clavell in 1986 James Clavell (10 October 1924 â€“ 7 September 1994) was a novelist, screenwriter, and World War II POW, who was famous for books such as Shogun, and such films as The Great Escape and To Sir, with Love. ... This page is about the James Clavell novel. ... Tai-Pan is a novel written by James Clavell about European and American traders who move into Hong Kong in 1841 following the end of the first Opium War. ... This article is about a novel. ... Noble House is a novel by James Clavell, published in 1981 and set in Hong Kong in 1963. ... Whirlwind is a novel by James Clavell, first published in 1986. ... Whirlwind is a novel by James Clavell, first published in 1986. ...