Discord

"The Upright Revolution" explores the effects and implications of discord between peoples by way of analogy. In the short story, the organs and limbs of the human body are symbolic of distinct members of a community. At the start of the piece, the legs and arms think "of each other as cousins," helping one another perform the body's key functions (6). "Democratic and egalitarian in their relationship, they could also borrow the uses of the other organs," adopting the sensory capabilities of their fellow body parts (11). However, as soon as the organs and limbs begin to argue over which of them is superior to the others, they become unable to communicate and operate effectively as members of a collective whole. Their competitiveness puts them at war with one another. The body parts, therefore, are representative of sparring members of a single society. Once they start resenting each...