75 pages • 2 hours read
Steve SheinkinThe Notorious Benedict Arnold
Nonfiction | Biography | YA | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
Ambition as a Class Impetus
Ambition and status-seeking is the driving force behind a number of the characters in The Notorious Benedict Arnold, notably Arnold himself and John André. Arnold comes from a prosperous merchant family that falls on hard times. The family becomes a byword among the other townspeople, and Arnold is determined to rise above everybody who thought ill of him. This is his main motivation for pursuing a military profession. Ambition certainly drives John André as he rises in the ranks of the British military and seeks to maintain his footing there.
Ambition is also the motivating force for Horatio Gates. He is born in England as the illegitimate son of a duke and emigrates to America in an effort to rise above his background. At the age of 50, Gates sees the war—and in particular, the Battle of Saratoga, a decisive conflict—as a chance to achieve renown.
Rivalry in Early American Conflict
The theme of rivalry first plays itself out between Arnold and Ethan Allen. Unbeknownst to each of them, both men have formed militias to attack Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold confronts Allen and demands to be given sole command of the operation. Allen is backed up by his Green Mountain Boys, but he agrees on a compromise to share leadership with Arnold.
Later, we witness a rivalry between Arnold and General Horatio Gates. The two cross paths in the lead-up to the Battle of Saratoga. The rivalry is initially sparked by Gates's failure to mention Arnold's contribution to a military operation in a report he writes to Congress. Arnold retaliates by filling his personal staff with officers who served under a former rival of Gates's. The two men finally reconcile their differences and cooperate in winning the Battle of Saratoga.
In addition to these central conflicts, there is a feud between Gates and General Philip Schuyler over who should have the upper hand in the leadership of the war. When Congress decides in favor of Gates, Schuyler bitterly hands over the reins of power.
Revenge as a Blinding Motivator
Arnold and André are motivated in part by feelings of resentment and the desire for revenge against people who wronged them in the past. Arnold's resentment is directed at the townspeople of Norwich who judged his family harshly during his childhood. André's resentment is directed at the Americans for capturing him as a prisoner of war. He gives vent to these feelings in his letters home, calling the locals insulting epithets. André's desire for revenge against the Americans is finally consummated by carrying out Arnold's plot of treason.
Many of Arnold's actions are motivated by resentment that he is not being given his due for his sacrifices. This is evident in his questionable trade dealings in Philadelphia, and especially in his bitter reaction to not being promoted by Congress. This festering resentment, exacerbated by the severe wounds he sustains at Saratoga, tries Arnold severely and fuels his treason.
The Devastation of Treason
In switching to the British side, Arnold betrays his country and the cause of independence to which he had formerly committed. When he first initiates his plot, the British are quite surprised as they never imagined Arnold to be among the Americans who could be “bought” (231). Upon learning of Arnold's treachery, George Washington declares: “Arnold has betrayed me; whom can we trust now?” (280). Washington is duly shocked, as he had always counted Arnold as a trusted associate and brother in arms.
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