In The Twenty-One Balloons, du Bois pursues an egalitarian ideal. The depiction of the community on Krakatoa is a model of social equality. The families living there have learned to share their resources and responsibilities equally.

They have established a government, arrived at by consensus and honored by all. Their considerable free time is devoted to mutually beneficial projects.

When the Professor arrives in their midst, the families are constructing an amusement park, a shared aim with joint effort and commitment.

The cooperation, resourcefulness, and mutual respect that make the isolated community on Krakatoa a success, also make possible the safe escape of everyone from the island when the disaster finally strikes. The twenty families take enough food in their balloons for all to survive, carefully rationing it and fairly doling it out. They plan to jump to safety by parachute in a systematic way. Although...