Proper Essay Example About Aristocratic Leadership

In the novel "Nick of the Woods", the author, Bird, appears to credit long-serving leaders. He supports the fact that leaders should hold leadership positions for as long as possible. He talks of Colonel Bruce, who is over 50 years but describes how he looks like a man in his thirties (Bird 22). Throughout, he speaks about how Bruce has served for long in leadership thus making him a good leader. In contrast, Jefferson, in his letter to Adam, appears to display a sharp displeasure for the aristocracy. According to Jefferson, it is possible that leaders are born with certain virtues and talents that make them suitable for leadership (2). However, it is Jefferson's view that at no one time can one be bestowed with both natural and artificial aristocratic behaviors. Jefferson, therefore, feels that there should be a system that replaces leaders occasionally to allow for the public to elect whom they believe addresses their issues well. According to his letter, the term of office for any leader should be short enough to allow for the public to change mind and elect a new leader if they feel that the current one is not up to the task (Jefferson 2). This is a sharp variation from how Bird thinks of leaders in his novel "Nick of the Woods." A good example is seen in the introduction he gives Colonel Bruce when he arrives close to Edith. Bird gives a picture of a person who he thinks of as accomplished, even though he is of old age (over fifty years). He carefully chooses words that praise Bruce as “And now Edith, let us ride forward and meet the yon gay looking giant, whom from his bustling demeanor, and fresh jerkin, I judge to be the commander of the station” (Bird 22). He adds that his stature “was colossal, and the proportions of his frame as just as they were gigantic, so that there was much in his appearance of real native majesty” (Bird 22).
Jefferson, however, continues to disagree sharply when he states that, “The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent its ascendancy” (Jefferson 3). According to Jefferson, while one may be lucky to be endowed with proper leadership skills at birth, it is unlikely that he could possess them for a long time, to the effect that he becomes the only likely leader amongst peers and colleagues. It is also unwise, according to Jefferson, to make laws to protect the rich, since they will somehow corrupt the system and find their way into government positions (Jefferson 3).