32 pages • 1 hour read
John F. KennedyProfiles in Courage
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1955A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Shoestring Tie
The "shoestring tie" worn by Senator George Norris serves as a potent symbol in Profiles in Courage. Although the item only appears in Senator Norris's section of Part 4, it serves to symbolize a wider thematic concern throughout the book: that of authenticity. In his description of Norris, Kennedy uses the tie to solidify a connection between Norris's character and his policy, one which offers integrity and authenticity to his positions. Norris's continued wearing of his black shoestring tie symbolizes the value of authenticity from consistency, echoing the consistency with which he maintains his positions and principles, despite the incredible criticism and abuse he faces.
The shoestring tie presents an image of resistance against the corruption and materialism with which politics and politicians are viewed. While the tie itself is a superficial choice, and only a statement by interpretation, it illustrates Norris's indifference to the privilege and elitism presented by the Senate. Norris's indifference has special significance, given Kennedy's own understanding of the Senate and its origins as a political and social body. In Part 1, Kennedy describes the Senate as implicitly designed as a more elitist chamber, particularly in comparison with the House of Representatives. This elitism, Kennedy explains, is meant to insulate senators from public opinion and dampen partisanship by encouraging its members to be collegial. The negative effect of this quality, however, is that it draws senators from only the highest tiers of society, and produces senators whose affinities and interests reflect only these limited spheres.
Norris, from Nebraska, presents a challenge to this idea of the senator. Himself a former member of the House of Representatives, Norris's election to the Senate came amidst a wave of progressive populism, of which the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution—stipulating the direct election of senators—is a result. However, the tumultuous events of Norris's career in public life—from his overturning of the Cannon Laws in the House, to his filibuster of President Woodrow Wilson's plan to arm American shipping in 1914—illustrate not a senator who felt himself subject to shifting sentiments and public opinion but a senator who believed himself to be charged by his constituents to maintain his integrity and honor his principles above all else.
"The Topmost Mast"
The "topmost mast" emerges as a symbol of the special responsibility held by senators to their constituents. The concept goes against an idea of representation in which senators simply execute what they believe to be the popular sentiments of their constituencies. The phrase was coined by Senator Lucius Lamar of Mississippi, following his opposition to the Bland Silver Bill which sought to loosen monetary policy with the introduction of silver coinage. Lamar's opposition to this bill draws the ire of many of his constituents in Mississippi, who believe that silver is the solution to the economic woes faced by Southern states. A talented and scholarly man, Senator Lamar studies the bill and its workings, and discovers it to have serious flaws in its design and effects, flaws he believes outweigh the positives. As such, he stands to register his dissent and vote against it. Although his fellow senators react to his courage warmly and he is praised by Northern politicians and newspapers for his honesty, he is criticized by his Democratic colleagues for failing to vote with the policies chosen by the party.
To answer these criticisms, Senator Lamar embarks on an ambitious tour of Mississippi, holding speaking engagements to explain his position and answer his constituents' questions. In doing so, he tells a story from the Civil War, in which a sailor in a "topmost mast" of a ship is contradicted by his officers, who believe their reason to be better than the sailor's eyes. In the matter of silver, Senator Lamar likens himself to the sailor, and his constituents to the officers; the Senate is the "topmost mast": Lamar is sent there to see what voters cannot, but only stays there at their discretion. The strong implication is that a senator is there not to follow orders, but, in Lamar's words, to "be true or false" (156).
