Those Crazy Captains VI: Captain Queeg of "The Caine Mutiny"

Herman Wouk’s masterpiece The Caine Mutiny is a fictitious account of (guess what?) a mutiny aboard a minesweeper U.S.S. Caine in the Pacific during World War II. It could be regarded as war fiction, but really the main conflict of the novel is not so much physical as it is psychological, as one inexperienced “by-the-book” captain attempts to take control and earn the respect of a ragtag and undisciplined crew, only to have everything go horribly,  horribly wrong.

The main character, Willie Keith, and his whole coming-of-age transformation from a high-class, lazy momma’s boy to a self-driven Navyman, is very much like Humphrey van Weyden and Harvey Cheyne Jr. But really, Keith’s journey—and his B-plot romance with the struggling singer May Wynn—is really secondary, almost to the point of being superfluous to the plot. 

Just like Ishmael is the narrator but not the protagonist of Moby-Dick, Keith is the primary perspective, but the main character and driving force of Wouk’s novel must be Captain Phillip Queeg, orbited by the sardonic academic Keefer and the simple and good first officer Maryk. The main question the novel poses the reader is: Is Queeg insane?

When Queeg takes command of the Caine even a non-military reader like me can see he’s in over his head. The previous captain has stressed substance over appearance, letting the crew get lax in following regulations such as tucking in shirttails or reading comics while on watch. Add to that Queeg’s evident lack of confidence in his leadership—he nervously monopolizes every staff meeting he leads, blurting all sorts of figures of speech for paragraphs on end until he abruptly asks if there are any questions and then adjourns the meeting—and the Caine can only be headed for disaster. 

The crew, for their part, is not at all helpful in putting Queeg at ease in his new position of authority.  They resent his new rules (which are actually the Navy’s rules, just observed to their most extreme extent), call him names behind his back, respond to his overtures of friendliness with cold silence, and in no way try to get to know him or reassure him with respect. It’s immediately obvious that Queeg lacks not only Keefer’s wit and sense of humor, but also Maryk’s common sense and experience at sea, yet they—the natural leaders of the story, and Queeg’s main connection to his men—make no attempt to bridge that gap.

The result is that Queeg’s nervous tendencies take over. Not having been all that exemplary an officer to start with, he becomes much, much worse. He becomes paranoid, fearful, a coward in battle, a tyrant over petty matters, a liar always blaming others for his mistakes and always taking credit for the accomplishments of others. His doubt becomes masked in vanity, his depression leads to him drinking and isolation, and because he trusts no one, no one trusts him. And because of his erratic actions, the crew begins to suspect he’s gone crazy.

Now, even today, the word “crazy” has become oversaturated in our vocabulary. We use it to mean excited, to love something so much, to be annoyed, or to be momentarily irrational…the list of nuances goes on.  Of course in the back of our minds we know it means “insane,” as in no longer in control of one’s mental faculties. So when the crew of the Caine begin to call Queeg “crazy,” it’s probably meant in a lighter version, such as he’s unreasonable or eccentric or just plain unpleasant to be around. It’s easy enough to stick a label on someone you don’t like, even if that label doesn’t quite fit.

Soon enough, though, the word “crazy” takes on its true meaning to the crew, particularly Keefer and Maryk. Keefer, with all his education and his particular dislike of Queeg, decides to do some amateur psychoanalyzing of why Queeg is such a weak, petulant leader. Maryk, who is so straightforward he takes this psychoanalyzing literally, immediately takes this diagnosis to heart and begins to watch his captain’s every move for more evidence. He logs every minor mistake Queeg makes, until a major disaster is imminent and Maryk usurps Queeg’s authority.  

The rest of the book involves the court-martial of Maryk and all the officers who followed his leadership. This is where the question, “Is Queeg Insane?” is tested from every angle. Wouk keeps the answer ambiguous, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions.   

When I read this book, I don’t read it from the standpoint of a member of the Navy. I read it from the only perspective I understand personally, and that’s from a management perspective. I feel like anyone in business, retail, or where one supervisor is supposed to delegate tasks and dictate precedents, should read this book. Look at Queeg as a sort of “what not to do” model, while also seeing how one should treat authorities so that they are able to perform to the best of their potential.