William Butler’s “The Butterfly Revolution”: A Cautionary Tale That Deserves Rediscovery
You can purchase a used copy of The Butterfly Revolution here.
First published in 1961,The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler is an excellent book that is now forgotten by most readers. I found the book at my neighborhood thrift store for a quarter and went in with minimal expectations. I was sucked into the story in an instant, enjoyed the entire book a great deal, and was satisfied with the conclusion. The book tells the tale of a camper revolt and takeover at High Pines Summer Camp for Boys. The revolution is lead by one of the older campers, Frank Reilly. Reilly is intelligent, manipulative, and power hungry. He preys on the boredom and frustration of the other campers, knows how to make the younger campers feel safe and appreciated, and understands what level of information he can share with the different age groups at the camp. He assigns different campers roles with specific objectives so they feel valued. As the story moves on, we discover that his master plan includes a much bigger takeover outside of High Pines.
The entire book is told through the journal entries of narrator and 13-year-old camper Winston Weyn. He is a well-read young man who struggles to connect with his peers because of his superior intelligence and fondness for rules and structure. Butler succeeds in using Weyn’s journal entries as an effective storytelling mechanism without ever feeling forced or unnatural. We see the events of the story unfold through the eyes of someone who buys into the takeover, feels conflicted about it at various points, and realizes what a terrible idea the revolution is at the end of the book.
It’s a well-worn and very topical theme, but I thought The Butterfly Revolution did an excellent job showing how large groups of people can be influenced by a charismatic, strong-willed leader.
It’s a well-worn and very topical theme, but I thought The Butterfly Revolution did an excellent job showing how large groups of people can be influenced by a charismatic, strong-willed leader. This book also resonated with me because I found the portrayal of Winston so believable. I work with teenagers and I’ve enjoyed working with students like him before. He is not a mean-spirited kid. He doesn’t want to harm others. But he also has the normal desires to be liked and accepted, and these desires make it easy for the older campers to influence his behavior and thinking. Even when events in the camp turn very sinister, Winston’s eagerness to be friends with his peers make it difficult for him to do the right thing. It reminded me of several incidents during my teenage years when I lacked the courage to stand up to social forces bigger than myself out of fear.
“I used to have this happy feeling about books and about knowledge, that there was nothing I couldn’t learn, but now there are so many things I don’t understand and don’t know if I will ever be able to understand.”
Winston is very intelligent and well read, oftentimes appearing smarter than his peers and older campers. He wants to believe that the world follows a logic and balance that can be learned through reading books. When The Butterfly Revolution starts, Winston believes that the knowledge he has absorbed through reading can help him make sense of the world around him. By the end of the book, he realizes that some things in life happen without reason or justification. He writes, “I used to have this happy feeling about books and about knowledge, that there was nothing I couldn’t learn, but now there are so many things I don’t understand and don’t know if I will ever be able to understand.”
By the end of the book, he realizes that some things in life happen without reason or justification.
In addition to my sympathy for Winston, I also found Mr. Warren, the camp’s director, a cringe-inducing but believable adult figure. He represents the out-of-touch adult all teachers and people who work with young adults fear they will turn into. He forces campers to do activities they have no interest in, becomes angry and upset when his authority is questioned, doesn’t seem to have much empathy for the campers, and is disliked or treated with disinterest by most of them. Some scenes with Mr. Warren that made me groan because I’ve seen his behavior in other adults I’ve worked with, and, as much as I hate to admit it, acted that way myself on a few occasions.
Reading this book, which I had never heard of before, made me realize how many great books there are from years ago that don’t have the audience to justify a reissue or an e-book edition. I hope this post sparks the interest of some readers enough for them to buy this book or find it at their local library.
I am a director of academic support/special education teacher and writer. I love writing about/interviewing people about books, movies, music, records, and samplers.
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