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- This article is about the book. For the 1949 film, see All the King's Men (1949 film). For the 2006 film, see All the King's Men (2006 film).
The Novel
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 and is acknowledged to be one of the best American political novels of all time. It portrays the life of ambitious, unscrupulous, and populist politician Willie Stark as told by Jack Burden, who works for Willie. There is a striking similarity between Stark and the real-life Louisiana politician Huey P. Long.
All the King's Men is important not only for its depiction of the rise and corruption of Stark, but also for the portrayal of the cynical Burden. The novel was an outgrowth of an earlier version of the story, a verse play entitled Proud Flesh.
Characters
Willie Stark (the Boss)
One of the main characters, Willie Stark, undergoes a transformation from a weak gubernatorial candidate into a charismatic leader of the common people. At first Willie genuinely cares about the common classes of people from which he sprung, and generally wields his power in order to do good. However, the accumulating power he receives comes to corrupt his noble reasons. Eventually Willie lives and rules primarily to serve himself. His Machiavellian nature eventually brings enemies and in the end causes his death.Jack Burden
Jack Burden is the narrator, who tells the story in a view looking back at the events leading up to Willie's demise. Much of Jack's narrative refers to events in the past, and through this readers can understand Jack's growth as a character.One of Jack's major traits is his irresponsibility. Jack is a history student, who, at the time of his pursuit of a doctorate, quit on his dissertation. Much of his research into his dissertation revolved around his study of the life of a 19th century collateral ancestor, Cass Mastern, a student at Transylvania College in Kentucky (Warren's native state). In learning Cass's story, Jack learns but has yet not accepted that every event has unforeseen and unknowable implications, and that all actions and all persons are connected to other actions and other persons.
Many of the events that follow also show Jack's attempt to escape reality and responsibility, because at the novel's beginning Jack is not willing or able to accept the implications of this fact. In the end, Jack is able to show his realization, after much disaster concerning the people around him (such as Willie, his long-time employer). Thus, the novel illustrates the growth of character through Jack himself.
Themes/imagery
One particularly interesting motif in the novel is the "twitch". When Jack discovers the love of his life (Anne Stanton) has been sleeping with and is in love with his boss, Governor Willie Stark, he jumps in his car and heads west to escape the reality of the situation. This trip has both direct and indirect references to the notion of manifest destiny, which is somewhat ironic when he comes back from it believing in the "Great Twitch".
Main character Jack Burden meets a man on his return journey who has an involuntary facial twitch and ends up giving him a ride to Arkansas (where he catches another ride to northern Arkansas, exactly where Burden's mother is from and where she met Jack's non-biological Father). It is this twitch which leads Jack to believe that all of life is without meaning; that everything is motivated by some inborn reflex action and that nobody is responsible for their choices or even their own destiny (hence the irony of his trip west). This revelation releases Jack from his own emotional frustration stemming from the relationship between Anne Stanton and his boss.
Jack is forced to abandon his belief in the "Great Twitch" when he attempts to blackmail life-long friend and political rival Judge Irwin. Rather than succumbing to the pressure imposed upon him, and also choosing not to tell Jack that he is his biological son, the judge decides to take his own life and shoots himself in the heart. This man who had sinned opted against self preservation and took the moral high road, thus demonstrating that he was not at the mercy of some unnamable, uncontrollable motivator.
The book also is replete with Oedipal imagery and themes, as Jack discovers his father's true identity, causes his death, and discovers who his mother is metaphorically and subsequently shows affection towards her. The idea of Jack's conception of his "father" is also crucial to the story.
Movie versions
All the King's Men, a movie made based on Warren's novel, was released in 1949. The film won three Oscars that year: (Best Picture, Best Actor Broderick Crawford, and Best Supporting Actress). The movie was also was nominated for four more categories. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant," and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
A remake of the 1949 film is currently in production (see All the King's Men (2006 film)).
External links
- All the King's Men at SparkNotes.com
1946 novels | American novels | Modern Library 100 best novels | Time Magazine 100 best novels
"All the King's Men"