Corruption in Higher Education: A Review of The Rooster Bar

Between the newfound accessibility of student loan financing and the dreams of comfort and prosperity, there has been a push toward higher education in the United States. But, this begs the age-old question—just because you can do something, should you? John Grisham’s The Rooster Bar explores the corruption of higher education and the various pathways to success. When we typically think of the field of education, we retain this idealistic view of a world unadulterated by corporate America. The term university conjures up images of progress, innovation, and the exchanging of ideas. In his novel, Grisham argues that these two worlds may not be as mutually exclusive as perceived. The Rooster Bar explores for-profit law schools and the insurmountable

Despite the three students’ propensity to lie, cheat, and fly under the radar of the law, Grisham’s enthralling storyline and character development, you still feel this compulsion to root for their success. Without reading The Rooster Bar, the actions of Matt, Todd, and Lola may seem reprehensible at the onset, but Grisham creates a Robin Hood-esque dilemma. It is illegal, not to mention unethical, to pull a fast one over corporations, but you have to imagine that it would feel hella good along the way. The three friends commit illegal acts, but they do so for the sake of rebellion against Foggy Bottom. Matt, Todd, and Zola feel suffocated by the debt and the control corporate giants hold over their future, an idea many Americans can relate to some extent with. They are able to reestablish themselves under new aliases and begin to retain clients. Although they are concerned with their own self-interests, the three students genuinely care about doing right by their clients. The characters’ redeemable qualities contribute to the overall theme that true criminals may not limited to fugitives and outcasts. White collar practices tend to be viewed as in a higher regard, yet often people are viewed as means to an