34 pages • 1 hour read
David BrooksThe Road to Character
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary: “Self-Mastery”
Although George Catlett Marshall struggled with academics from his childhood and teenage years into his time at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), he was dedicated to serving every institution he was ever part of. He proved a reliable, and even exceptional team player while at VMI, often taking on menial tasks other students would not. While his service in WWI was outwardly unremarkable, his talent for exacting logistics and plan execution were noted and lauded to the point that his domestic roles within the US Government during WWII were indispensable to the US Presidents he served under. As Secretary of State, he formulated and enacted the European Recovery Plan—which was so effective and necessary that history has given it his name, the Marshall Plan. His flawless self-control and institutionally-minded loyalty ensured that he was loved by all he served and worked with during his long military career.
Chapter 5 Analysis
Although Marshall was known for being something of an unruly child and teenager, he proved during his time at VMI that he could master his unruliness to serve an institution toward which he felt great loyalty and devotion. The self-mastery he cultivated during his college education and early military training served him well during wartime service, ensuring that he could take on any logistical challenge set before him with efficiency and precision.
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By David Brooks
