TOPIC: ALL THE KINGS ARE MAN BY - Robert Penn Warren SUBJECT: COMMUNICATION SKILLS - II SUBJECT CODE: ENG

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SUBMITTED TO:Mr. Raman Jaswal (Dept. of Comm. Skills)

SUBMITTED BY:Name: Jagraj Singh Regn. No: 10807772 Section: C6804 Roll No: RC6804A21 Course: B.Tech-MBA ECE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Jagraj Singh of section C6804, registration no. 10807772 and roll no. C6804A21 hereby submit this term paper of Communication Skills to Mr. Raman Jaswal (dept. of communication) on the novel All Kings are Men. I have been completed this term paper under the guidance of Sir itself. It is my heartiest pleasure to be a part of this term paper. Also I want to thank my teacher for giving me this work on this project.

Submitted to: Mr. Raman Jaswal (Dept. of communication)

Character Profiles
Adam Stanton: A childhood friend of Jack and the brother of Anne, Adam is also the personification of honesty and idealism. He is a surgeon and works to help people rather than for profit. Because of this altruism, Willie wishes to employ him as the director of his new hospital. After Adam receives an anonymous telephone call (which is from Tiny Duffy) and is told that Anne has been having an affair with Willie, his

idealism is shattered and he assassinates him. Adam is shot by Sugar-Boy and a police man in their defence of Willie. Anne Stanton: Anne is the sister of Adam and friend and former lover of Jack. Her affair with Willie Stark is one of the reasons that Adam loses his faith in the good. Jack's earlier idealization of her is encapsulated as a memory of her floating in the water as a child. Cass Mastern: This man is the maternal uncle of Ellis Burden and is the subject of Jack Burden's uncompleted PhD research. His story appears in Chapter Four. Gummy Larson: Gummy Larson is a marginal figure, but is of importance as a representative of corruption. Despite Willie's involvement in political machinations and bribery, he initially decides to build his hospital without Larsen as he wants this work to be untainted. Willie's moral downfall is complete once he changes his mind and chooses Larson for the building contract in order to protect his son (and therefore himself) from a potentially damaging sex scandal. Jack Burden: Jack is the first person narrator of the novel and, consequently, it is his perspective that the readers share. He is a journalist working for the Chronicle when he first meets Willie and it is worth remembering that this colors the narrative. The distance and moral ambiguity required of the archetypal journalist is used authentically by Penn Warren in his characterization of Jack. Before his journalist work, Jack was studying for a PhD in American History and

this desire to research, and to find the truth, is also another facet to his character. Jack's mother: Jack's mother is not given a full name and is characterized by the harsh way that Jack views her for the majority of the novel. It is only in the final chapter that he recognizes his mother has feelings, and that she loved Judge Irwin. The Judge's death drives her to leave Burden's Landing. Judge Irwin: Judge Irwin is at first revered by Jack and is regarded as a father-figure from his childhood at Burden's Landing. When Jack begins investigating his past for 'dirt', on behalf of Willie, the catastrophic events that lead to the deaths of Judge Irwin, Willie and Adam begin to unfold. After Jack reveals to the Judge that he knows of his involvement in a bribery scandal and a suicide, the Judge kills himself and Jack is told by his mother that he has killed his father. Lois: Lois is Jack's first wife and their unsuccessful marriage is described in Chapter Seven. Lucy Stark: Lucy is the wife of Willie and plays only a slight role in the novel. By the end, her husband and son are dead and she has adopted the baby she hopes is her grandchild. She reveals to Jack that she paid the mother $6,000 to ensure the adoption. MacMurfee:

MacMurfee is Willie's political rival for the role of Governor and is his nemesis throughout the course of the novel. Mortimer Littlepaugh: Once Jack discovers Littlepaugh's suicide, and how he used to work for the American Electric Power Company, he begins to find the required 'dirt' on Judge Irwin. Sadie Burke: Sadie is Willie's secretary and adviser and has had a long-standing love affair with him whilst he is Governor. It is her jealousy of Willie and Anne's relationship that inspires her to encourage Tiny Duffy to ring Adam to let him know about it. The scars on her face from small pox are a constant reminder of her blighted childhood that was mired in poverty. Scholarly Attorney: This is the name by which Jack mainly refers to the man (Ellis Burden) whom he considers to be his father in the earlier chapters of the novel. After leaving his family behind when Jack is aged six, this character embarks on a 'career' of preaching to the world about God's truth. In Chapter Eight, Jack and the readers discover that Judge Irwin is his biological father, but this old man comes to live with Jack and Anne in the final chapter. We are led to believe that the Scholarly Attorney left the marital home because of his wife's affair with the Judge, but it is not clear whether he has ever known if Jack is his son or not. Sugar-Boy: Sugar-Boy is the driver and assistant for Willie when he becomes Governor. He is characterized by his

stammer and love of sugar (hence his nickname), and is wholly loyal to Willie. He shoots Adam when he sees him pointing a gun at Willie. Tiny Duffy: Duffy is a tax assessor when he first meets Jack. In his work for the Democrats, he was party to Willie being deceived into running for Governor. When Willie is finally installed in this position, he makes Duffy his Lieutenant Governor and is aware that he cannot trust him. This is borne out when Duffy rings Adam to tell him of his Anne's affair with Willie. Tom Stark: Tom is the son of Willie and Lucy. Jack's sneering descriptions of him as 'All American' refer to his football prowess and his over-attachment to stereotypically masculine behaviors, such as sleeping with numerous women and driving whilst inebriated. Willie Stark: Willie is the central character as the narrative traces the trajectory of his rise and fall. Early in the novel he is an honest, law-abiding citizen who is a County Treasurer. He loses his job because of his honesty as he wants to take the lowest, best bid for the construction of a schoolhouse. After finally being voted in as Governor, the changes in his character are made apparent. When Jack first meets him he is virtually tee-total. With his rise to power, Willie begins to drink more and has many affairs and relationships with other women. Power is seen to corrupt the innocence of the man Jack initially thought of as 'Cousin Willie'.

SUMMARY
CHAPTER 1
All the King's Men begins with a long description of a drive to Mason City. The first person narrator (who we later discover is Jack Burden) relates how he last came to Mason City nearly three years ago in 1936. The narrative then shifts back to this time as Jack tells of sitting in a Cadillac with the Boss (Willie Stark), Tiny Duffy, the Boss's wife Lucy and son Tom; Sugar-Boy is driving. The photographer, reporters and the Boss's secretary, Sadie Burke, are in the second car. They pull up in front of a drug store and everyone recognizes the Boss. The presence of a photograph of him above the soda fountain reiterates his fame. Jack informs the reader that he has seen this picture in a thousand places and is signed with the legend, 'My study is the heart of the people'. Once outside, the Boss talks to the mass of people telling them he is not here for votes today - he is home to visit his father. This is the first indication that the Boss is a politician. As they drive away, Jack remembers the first time he met Willie about 14 years ago in 1922. This is when Willie was the County Treasurer of Mason County and Jack was a journalist for the Chronicle. They met in the backroom of Slade's pool hall; Tiny Duffy, who was then a tax assessor and Alex Michel (the deputy sheriff) were also present. Willie was an old school friend of Alex. Slade's refusal to join in taunting Willie to have a beer is noted by Jack as the reason that he did so well financially after Willie came to power. The narrative returns to three years ago and the two cars arrive at the house of Willie's father. This is arranged as a photo opportunity rather than a family visit. Sadie gives Willie the news that Judge Irwin 'has come out for Callahan', that is, he has endorsed him for Senate nomination (rather than Willie's man, Masters). That evening, Willie, Jack and Sugar-Boy drive down to Burden's Landing (where Jack was born and raised) so that Willie can talk to Irwin. Jack recalls his friends, Anne and Adam Stanton, and remembers Irwin as more of a father than his mother's partners (who appeared when his father left the marital home). At Irwin's home, Willie helps himself to a drink and tries to intimidate Judge Irwin with the suggestion of blackmail: the Judge remains unmoved. On the drive back to his

father's house, Willie insists that Jack finds 'dirt' on the Judge - even if it takes 10 years. The chapter concludes with Jack relating how this was a long while ago; Masters is now dead, as is Adam Stanton, Judge Irwin and Willie.

CHAPTER 2
Chapter Two begins in 1939 and soon shifts back to 1922 and to the first time Jack went to Mason City. He goes on behalf of the Chronicle to find out about Willie. Once there, he talks to old men outside the harness shop, Dolph Pillsbury and the sheriff. All demonstrate an inherent racism and tell Jack the problem with Willie is that he wants to accept the lowest bid on the building of the schoolhouse. Jack visits Willie and discovers Lucy, his wife, has been sacked as a teacher because of the fuss and he (Willie) probably will not be re-elected as Treasurer as he attained the position through Pillsbury. He insists he will still run for election, though. Willie's version of events is that Jeffers offered the lowest bid for the building of the school, which is the one he favors. There were two other bids between this one and the one the others (including Pillsbury) want to accept, which is Moore's. Pillsbury uses racism as a defence for arguing against Jeffers as well as the belief he will bring strangers in. A shift forward in time reveals that Pillsbury 'turned out to be Willie's luck'. The schoolhouse built by Moore was shoddily constructed. Three years after it was built a fire escape collapsed and killed and maimed children. Through this occurrence, Willie is proven to be the honest one. In this period, Willie trains to be a lawyer and is asked to run for Governor by the Democrats. Duffy is in league with the people who ask him to run and becomes his campaign manager. Willie is so complimented and awestruck by this offer that he fails to see he is being used as a 'sap', and Duffy does not tell him. Willie is being used to split the votes of one of the other candidates (MacMurfee). Sadie inadvertently reveals to Willie that he is being used as a sacrificial goat and Willie proceeds to get drunk for the first time. The next day he gives a speech at a barbecue that had been pre-arranged. This time his speech is convincing as he does not use his notes full of figures. He calls Duffy a Judas Iscariot and tells the crowd he is pulling out of the election, but insists he will stand again. Willie goes on to campaign for MacMurfee, who is elected. After working as a lawyer, Willie later stands in the Democratic primary and wins. Jack resigns from the Chronicle after the editor reminds him the newspaper supports MacMurfee (so he must too). Jack is unemployed after this resignation and falls into what he calls his 'Great Sleep'. This has occurred before, as when he gave up on his PhD and when his marriage to Lois was breaking down. He visits Adam and Anne Stanton in this period, and she is concerned for him and his relationship with his father, Ellis Burden.

The chapter ends with Willie, as Governor, offering Jack a job.

CHAPTER 3
This chapter begins with Jack at his mother's home in Burden's Landing in 1933. He recalls how, in the past, his mother argued with him about working for Willie. There is a shift to when he was six years old and his father left. His mother's next partners are listed as the Tycoon, the Count and the Young Executive (Theodore). Jack recalls memories of swimming with Anne and Adam Stanton when he was 17, in 1915 and of how he later went on to fall in love with Anne. He went to college and the army would not have him because of his 'bad feet'; Judge Irwin fought in the war. This is followed by a description of a dinner party at the Judge's house last time Jack was home. Here, Patton, who is a guest, is critical of Willie as Governor and says he is giving the state away. The Judge reminds him that the Supreme Court has supported Willie on every issue raised. After the dinner, Jack argues with his mother and tells her he is not interested in money and neither is Willie. A description of how the Scholarly Attorney met his mother is then given. After leaving Burden's Landing, Jack is summoned to Willie's office by Sadie. Jack witnesses him reprimanding Byram B. White, the State Auditor, and makes him resign for his 'nice little scheme to get rich'. It ensues that White is forced to do this as he is to be impeached. Hugh Miller, the Attorney General, offers his resignation in disgust as he sees that Willie is protecting White and himself with this measure. Willie tells Jack that Lucy will leave him now. Jack assumes this is because of his affair with Sadie, but Willie replies it is because he 'took care of Byram White'. Willie's sexual transgressions are exposed to the readers as it is revealed that he had an affair with a 'Nordic Nymph' ice skater after only six months of being the Governor. Sadie shows her anger to Jack as she believes Willie has 'two-timed' her. She then reveals her poverty-stricken past of growing up in a shack and it is explained that her face is marked because of small pox; her brother died from this and their father was negligent of his children. The narrative returns to politics and it is revealed that the threat of impeachment has moved from White to Willie. Willie is saved when Jack follows orders and takes a document to Lowdan ('the kingpin of the MacMurfee boys in the House') with signatures of men saying impeachment is unjustified. Lowdan says (rightly) that these men have been blackmailed into signing this, but also goes along with it.

Jack says he feels like 'God-Almighty' after dealing with Lowdan. He does not believe in his father's God, but feels like him when he sees the crowds waiting for Willie outside the Capitol building. This chapter ends with the information that Lucy does not leave Willie 'after the impeachment problem' and Willie is voted in for a second term in 1934. She leaves him in 1935, but the public are not informed. She still features in photographs with him as with the trip to Mason City in 1936 in Chapter One.

CHAPTER 4
This chapter begins with a return to Jack having to find 'dirt' on Judge Irwin. This will be his 'second excursion' into the past. The first one is about 'the story of Jack Burden' and when he was working on his American history PhD at State University. At this time, he shared an apartment with two men who he describes as alcoholics. Jack describes himself at this time as hiding from the present. His research is based on Cass Mastern, a maternal uncle of his father Ellis Burden (the Scholarly Attorney). The majority of this chapter then relates the history of Cass Mastern and deviates from the main narrative. Cass was born into poverty, but his elder brother Gilbert returned to the family home after making his fortune and assisted his brother by letting him manage a plantation. Following this, Gilbert sent him to Transylvania College. Here, Cass had an affair with Annabelle Trice and her husband Duncan committed suicide after finding out about it. It was thought to be an accident, but when Phebe (a slave of the Trices) finds Duncan's wedding ring under Annabelle's pillow it is clear that Duncan and now Phebe understand that Annabelle has been adulterous. Annabelle sells Phebe because of guilt and the fear that Phebe will tell others of the true reason why Duncan died. Cass is greatly affected by this and believes that his one act (his affair with Annabelle) has led to consequences he never expected, such as the death of his friend and the betrayal of Phebe. He decides to find Phebe and set her free. After searching fruitlessly for her, and being embroiled in a fight, Cass returns to working on his plantation. He frees his slaves and considers becoming involved in the Abolition movement. He tells a story of a former Abolitionist, Caroline Turner, who could not bear her slaves to look at her and so she flogged them mercilessly. Cass draws parallels with this, Annabelle's betrayal of Phebe and his sense of guilt with his freed slaves. Once these freed slaves leave for the North, Cass decides not to work this land with slaves again and so refuses to sell it.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Cass joins the Mississippi Rifles and carries a weapon but decides he will not kill anyone as he has used up his right to blood. Whilst marching to war, he wears Duncan's wedding ring on a string around his neck. Finally, Cass is shot and 'rotted slowly to death' in a hospital in Atlanta. As a student, Jack could not understand Cass. The present day, older Jack looks back at himself and sees that he could not grasp Cass's view of the world of responsibility, and the 'the world is one piece'. Cass's perspective of the world as a spider's web, where one act affects many others, are only words to Jack at this time. Jack reflects on hindsight that it is possible that he did understand Cass, but if so, he saw a reproach in Cass's sense of responsibility. Jack turns away from his studies and enters on one of his periods of Great Sleep. He leaves the apartment eventually and the landlady sends him his parcel of Cass's papers. This unopened parcel travels with him from rooms to rooms and to the place he shares with his wife Lois.

CHAPTER 5
Jack's second piece of research is based on finding out about Judge Irwin's past. Jack realises he will have to talk to his father, the Scholarly Attorney, as the two men used to be friends. His father has George, 'the unfortunate', staying: George used to work in a circus and now makes angels out of chewed up bread. Jack's father will not reveal anything about the past, however, as he sees it as 'foulness'. Jack is left thinking there is something to discover about the Judge and is clearly jealous of the relationship his father and George have. The narrative shifts momentarily to Jack and Willie watching Willie's son, Tom, playing football. Tom's popularity with young women is referred to and Jack's scorn for him is exposed in his references to Tom as 'All American' and 'Daddy's Darling'. Jack then goes to see Anne and Adam whilst they are visiting their home at Burden's Landing. Jack asks Anne if Judge Irwin was ever 'bad broke' as he believes if the Judge had ever committed a crime or even behaved badly, money would be the cause. Anne does not answer, but tells him she had lunch with Governor Stark last week. When Adam arrives, Jack also asks him about the Judge's financial affairs. Adam recalls that he had money problems in 1913 and 1914. Two days later Anne rings to tell Jack that Judge Irwin married money because he was broke. By telling him this, she believes she is showing that the Judge solved his problems with marriage rather than in a criminal way. The Judge's second wife, Mabel Carruthers, was rich and Jack discovers he paid his mortgage off after marrying her in

1914. He also finds out, though, that Mabel was not wealthy when she married the Judge - she was having financial problems in 1911. Jack's research reveals that in 1914 the Judge had been Attorney General. He obtained shares for the American Electrical Power Company and sold them. Jack then finds out about the suicide of Mortimer L. Littlepaugh who had been a lawyer for the American Electric Power Company. After visiting his sister, Jack discovers that Littlepaugh knew that Judge Irwin took a bribe to 'let up on the suit against the Southern Belle Fuel people'. The Judge was also given Littlepaugh's job with a much higher salary. Both Littlepaugh and his sister talked to Governor Stanton (father of Anne and Adam) about this bribery and corruption, but the Governor would not listen.

CHAPTER 6
Jack recalls that before meeting Miss Littlepaugh, Tom Stark was in a drunk driving accident. The girl with him was badly injured and her father insists on taking out a lawsuit. He changes his mind, however, when he is reminded that his trucking business depends on 'a lot of contacts with certain state departments'. In a move away from corruption, the Boss (Willie) tells Jack of his plans to build a six million dollar hospital - the Willie Stark Hospital - and wants Adam Stanton to work there as director. The narrative moves to Slade's pool hall, which is where Jack first met Willie. Jack is there to talk to Anne and she tells Jack she wants Adam to take the hospital job. Jack tells her he will try to persuade him. He goes on to tell her about his discoveries of Judge Irwin's past and her father's involvement. She reacts hysterically and attracts the attention of a policeman. Jack is almost arrested, but the policeman desists when Jack tells him who he is. Anne rings five nights later and asks for the papers that prove her father's and the Judge's guilt. She visits Jack to tell him she has shown the papers to Adam. She then asks Jack for a favor; she wants him to show the papers to the Judge to 'give him a chance' to explain. Jack agrees to do this. The narrative shifts to Adam saying he will take the job of hospital director, and Jack and Willie go to see him. Adam tells Willie that he will not stand for any interference if he takes the position. Willie cites the point that he wants to make goodness out of badness, that is, that he wants this hospital to be free from corrupting influences. Adam asks him, 'how do you even recognise the good? Assuming you have made it from the bad.'

Jack recalls the night after the fear of impeachment and Willie makes a speech to the crowd about the hospital and education. Adam said at the time that this is Willie's bribe to the people. Willie also says in the speech that if anyone tries to stop him he will 'smite him', and then asked for his meat-ax. Jack shows a lack of understanding of Willie's desire for purity in the following quotation: 'If he believed that you had to make the good out of the bad because there wasn't anything else to make it out of, why did he stir up such a fuss about keeping Tiny's hands off the Willie Stark Hospital?' This chapter ends with Jack remembering Anne telling him that she wants Adam to take the job, and realises that he had not told her about the position or Willie's offer. Jack asks Adam if he told her about it, but he had not. The mystery is solved when Sadie visits Jack and lets him know that Willie is 'two-timing' her with Anne Stanton. Jack goes to see Anne about it, and she just nods.

CHAPTER 7
After seeing Anne, Jack decides to drive to California. The next part of the narrative is constructed by memories of when he fell in love with her, when he was 21 and she was 17. They went on to spend the summer together and excluded others. When they fell in love, they would talk about what they would do after they were married and which names they would give their children. In September, he does not see her for two days and Anne becomes more distant towards him in their last week together before she returns to Miss Pound's School. Two nights before she is due to leave Jack undresses her at his home and she lies on his bed. He decides it is not right, though: 'I couldn't anymore have touched her than if she had been my little sister.' The early return of his mother to the home means that Anne has to leave anyway. In the present, Jack reflects that if they had had sex then, his mother and her father would have 'set us up in matrimony', and she would not have had an affair with Willie. The gradual breakdown of Jack and Anne's relationship is explained and we are told how a year after they fell in love Anne kissed him with a new kiss. This is one she has learned from another man. Jack moves on then to describe his marriage to Lois and their separation: 'But as soon as I began to regard her as a person, trouble began. All would have been well, perhaps, had Lois been struck dumb at puberty.' The final phase of his marriage is denoted by his fall into what he describes as the Great Sleep (which he has referred to in Chapters Two and Four). The narrative returns to Anne as Jack relates how she went on to get engaged three times but never married. It is clear that Jack has idealized Anne and he views her affair with Willie as a form of betrayal, 'or rather, had betrayed an idea of mine which had

more importance for me than I had ever realised.' This is why Jack has driven West after finding out about their relationship and says 'we have always gone West'. Jack expands on his feelings for Anne and says how he has always kept an image of her as a little girl floating in the waters of the bay, 'all innocence and trustfulness'. He feels robbed of this image after discovering she has been Willie's mistress. The chapter ends with Jack telling the readers of how on his hotel bed in California he has discovered the dream: 'That dream was the dream that all life is but the dark heave of blood and the twitch of nerves.' Jack is making the point that at this time he sees nothing beyond the senses, and offers a nihilistic perspective of human relations. Furthermore, he has regarded the notion of 'a new start in the West' as possible, 'if you believe the dream you dream when you go there'.

CHAPTER 8
Chapter Eight begins with Jack's return from California and his sentiment that he is no longer envious of people with secret knowledge. On his journey back to Louisiana, Jack gives a lift to a man aged 75. The man's face is immobile apart from a twitch: 'What was alive was the twitch, of which he was no longer aware.' After dropping the man off, Jack considers this twitch and wonders if the man's face knows about it. His musings become absurdist as he ponders whether only the twitch knows the 'twitch is all'. He goes on to call this the Great Twitch. On his return home, Jack visits Willie but does not tell him that he knows of his affair with Anne. The narrative shifts to Jack talking with Adam, and Jack asks if he can watch him perform a lobectomy. Adam agrees and Jack watches the operation with interest. After the operation, Jack does not see Adam for a while, but he is told by Anne that Adam has had a meeting with Herbert Coffee. Coffee came to see Adam to ask him to influence the Boss (Willie) in the building of the new medical center. Coffee wants the Boss to give the contract to Gummy Larson. Adam goes on to hit Coffee when he suggests there will be money in it for him if he manages to persuade the Boss. Jack then asks Anne why she has had an affair with Willie. She replies that there was no reason not to once Jack had told her about her father's involvement with corruption. She also tells Jack that Willie wants to marry her. She says she may do later; a divorce would 'hurt him' at the present. With Willie's acceptance, Jack manipulates Adam into taking the hospital director's job (after the conflict with Coffee) by influencing him into wanting to swear out a warrant on Coffee, and then talking him out of a court case.

There are changes in Willie's life as he and MacMurfee come into further battles. MacMurfee has discovered that Marvin Frey's daughter, Sibyl, has been a friend of Tom Stark. She is pregnant and it is likely that Tom is the father although rumours abound that she has also slept with other men. Lucy asks Jack to visit her, as she wants to know the truth about Tom. Jack tells her about Sibyl and of MacMurfee's desire to use this knowledge against Willie. Willie decides to talk to Sibyl's father alone, but MacMurfee has moved him to an anonymous address. Willie wants the 'dirt' on Judge Irwin more urgently now as Willie believes MacMurfee would listen to the Judge. Jack agrees but firstly insists on showing the Judge his proof before involving anybody else. At the Judge's home, Jack leads into the conversation by implying he has information on the Judge and asks him to talk to MacMurfee. He gives the Judge a day to make up his mind. When the Judge refuses, Jack refers to Littlepaugh and at first, the Judge does not even remember him. It is also mentioned that both Jack and the Judge are protecting blackmailers. The Judge admits to the information that Jack has found and then tells him he can stop all of this, but is not explicit about what he will do. Jack returns to his mother's home that evening and is awoken by his mother screaming that he has killed his father. It transpires that the Judge shot himself that afternoon through the heart; therefore, the Judge is Jack's biological father. On the day after the funeral, Jack is told that he is the main heir to the Judge's estate: 'I was the sole heir to the estate which Judge Irwin had saved, years before, by his single act of dishonesty, the act for which I, as the blameless instrument of justice, had put the pistol to his heart.'

CHAPTER 9
This chapter begins with Willie letting Jack know he has heard of the Judge's death. Jack chooses not to tell him that the Judge is his father and does not reveal the knowledge he has for blackmailing him. Jack has decided that he will not be involved in blackmail any longer and has nothing further to do with the MacMurfee affair. Meanwhile, Tom is excelling in football and Willie decides to remove the pressure from MacMurfee by buying off Gummy Larson. He arranges for Larson to have the hospital building contract after all. The reason for this is that with this 'sweetener' Larson will ask MacMurfee to stop attempting to blackmail Willie with the information about Tom's affair and possible child with Sibyl.

At a meeting with Larson, Willie gets drunk and throws a drink in Duffy's face. Jack points out, as narrator, how nothing fazes Larson, as 'he was a true businessman.' Willie is angry, however, at making this capitulation. Jack then draws on a biblical motif to consider why Anne would be attracted to a man such as Willie: '[Women] like to build their honeycomb in the carcass of a dead lion'. The narrative shifts to Tom's exploits and we are told he has broken the training rules and has been suspended from playing. After his team is beaten, Willie uses his power to have Tom reinstated early. Whilst playing, Tom is knocked out and taken to hospital, and Willie asks Jack to fetch Lucy. Tom is treated by Adam in the hospital, as Doctor Burnham is unable to get there immediately. It transpires that Tom is unconscious and his neck has been broken. Once Doctor Burnham arrives, he and Adam agree on the required procedures. Willie is given two options for his son: he will have either lengthy traction or a life-threatening operation. There is, however, an 'outside chance' of an improved life with the operation and Willie elects this for his son. After the operation, Adam informs Willie and Lucy that Tom will live, but his spinal chord has been crushed in the accident. He will never be able to use his arms and legs and will succumb to infections easily. The operation is performed on the Sunday and the next day Willie comes to his office and tells his staff that there will no longer be a contract for Larson. Jack receives a telephone call from a distraught Anne and he goes to see her. She is crying and insists he finds Adam. Adam has spoken to Anne and told her he will not be the director of Willie's hospital. He said he was only made director because of her relationship with Willie, and he will not be his sister's pimp. Before telling Anne this, Adam had received an anonymous call from a man who informed him of Anne and Willie's relationship and insinuated this was why Willie wanted to employ him. Jack searches for Adam, but cannot find him. He is then asked to meet Willie at the Capitol. Whilst talking to Willie here, Adam appears. It seems as though Adam is about to shake Willie's hand, but he shoots him instead. Consequently, Adam is shot dead by Sugar-Boy and a highway patrolman. Willie survives for three days, but declines further in his health when he develops an infection. Before his death, he asks Jack why Adam did it and Jack says he does not know. Willie dies the next morning and Jack attends two funerals in a week: the first one was Adam's at Burden's Landing.

CHAPTER 10

After Willie's funeral, Jack returns to Burden's Landing once more because he cannot bear to stay in town and he wants to see Anne. On his return, Anne and Jack sit together not talking, but sometimes Jack reads to her. Jack continues to wonder who it was that rang Adam to inform him of Anne and Willie's affair. Jack goes back to town and tries to contact Sadie to ask her about it. She is at a rest home called the Millett Sanatorium. Once he has found her, he asks if she knows the name of the man who called Adam. She says that it was Duffy and after being repeatedly questioned by Jack she finally answers that she knows because she told him to do it because she was jealous of Anne. She also informs him that Duffy congratulated her after Willie died. Because Duffy had been the Lieutenant Governor whilst Willie was alive, he is now the temporary Governor. Jack wants to 'get' Duffy for the part he has played and visits him when Duffy asks to see him. Duffy offers him a job and says he can have 10%, even 20% more than Willie paid him. Jack refuses and tells him it is 'no sale'. Jack receives a letter from Sadie three days later and she also sends him a statement of what lead to Willie's death. She also advises Jack against taking action. Duffy will not be re-elected and Anne will be dragged into the scandal. Jack also begins to feel guilty and this in turn stops him from seeking revenge. Jack keeps his distance from people 'for quite a while' until he sees Sugar-Boy in the library. As Jack and Sugar-Boy talk, Jack realizes he can manipulate Sugar-Boy into killing Duffy and thus avenge the deaths of Willie and Adam. He almost tells him about Duffy's involvement, but then changes his mind. In May, Jack visits Lucy and they discuss the death of Tom in February. This is the first time it is mentioned in the novel, but Jack already knew about it from the newspapers. Tom died of pneumonia. Lucy then relates how she has legally adopted Tom's baby (to Sibyl). As though to convince herself and Jack, she repeatedly says it is Tom's baby because it looks like him. She paid $6,000 for the baby and has called him Willie because he 'was a great man'. She says she has to believe that and Jack reveals he has come to believe it too. The narrative shifts to Jack's return to Burden's Landing at the request of his mother. She is leaving the Young Executive and her home in the aftermath of Judge Irwin's death. She informs Jack that she is leaving for Reno and that she is giving her former lover the house. She also asks Jack what happened when he last saw the Judge. Jack lies and tells her they had a little argument about politics and he talked about his health. With the departure of his mother, Jack begins to feel at peace with both her and himself. He visits Anne and tells her about his mother and that he has accepted the past. He apologises for not answering (or reading) her letter from six months ago and

explains that Ellis Burden is not his father. He also explains that by accepting the past 'you might hope for the future'. Jack explains to the readers how this has been 'the story of Willie Stark', and his story too. His view of the world has changed and he no longer believes in the Great Twitch. This is because he has seen too many people 'live and die' and now recognizes the concept of responsibility. A passing reference is then made to Hugh Miller and Jack suggests strongly that he will work with him, and is a future friend. The novel ends with Jack explaining that he lives in his father's house (Judge Irwin's) and the truth has given him his past back. He is now married to Anne, and Ellis Burden (who he used to think of as his father) lives with them. Ellis is poorly and will not survive the winter and Jack relates how he will be ready to leave the house by then. It is heavily mortgaged and it transpires the Judge was poor at the time of his death. This is ironic as the Judge committed his only crime (involved in bribery) in order to save this house. Jack tried to make amends for his father and wanted to give Miss Littlepaugh money (she is the sister of Mortimer Littlepaugh), but she had died by this time. Jack keeps this money, therefore, and uses it to give himself time to complete his book on Cass Mastern. He feels he can now come closer to understanding him. He also notes the irony of writing about Cass, who suffered for his conscience, in the Judge's house (who tried to forget about his misdemeanours). By the summer of this year, 1939, Jack believes they will have left the Judge's house and his book will be complete. He and Anne will leave Burden's Landing 'and go out into the convulsion of the world, out of history into history and the awful responsibility of Time.'

Metaphor Analysis
'Cousin' Willie
When Jack recalls his first meeting with Willie, in the back room of Slade's pool hall, he refers to him as Cousin Willie. This version of Willie is a somewhat nave man who is unconcerned about the opinion of others and holds the lowly position of County Treasurer. 'Cousin' represents an innocent before the corruption of power. It may also be read as an ironic description when one considers the changes that Willie undergoes.

Great Twitch
On his return home from California, where Jack has been staying to escape from thoughts of Anne Stanton's affair with Willie, he gives a lift to a man of 75. This man's face is, for the most part, immobile, except for a twitch in the left cheek. Whilst talking to him, Jack considers the man's words are 'not alive'; only the twitch is alive and the man is no longer aware of it. Jack then goes on to ruminate in an absurdist fashion that, 'you are at one with the Great Twitch' as though this is all that matters about life. The Great Twitch represents Jack's nihilistic perspective at this moment in the narrative. In the concluding pages of the novel, the change in Jack's views are represented by his repudiation of his 'Great Twitch' theory: 'But later, much later, he woke up one morning to discover that he did not believe in the Great Twitch any more. He did not believe in it because he had seen too many people live and die.' At this late point, via the metaphor of the Great Twitch, it is emphasized that Jack now has faith in people taking responsibility for their actions.

Willie Stark Hospital

Once Willie attains power as Governor, he becomes preoccupied with a desire to build a hospital for everybody (men, women and children) and wishes to build and run this without the taint of corruption. The hospital represents truth, innocence, and a desire on Willie's part to be remembered as 'clean'. When Willie gives the contract for the building work to Gummy Larson (as a pay off to stop MacMurfee blackmailing him about his son's affair and possible child), advertisement Willie's descent into the moral quagmire is complete. The hospital had symbolized purity up to this point; when Willie involves Larson, he no longer has any of the redeeming qualities which Jack could see in 'Cousin Willie'.

The sad, ironic aspect to Willie's dream is encapsulated in his final decision not to give Larson the contract after Tom is paralyzed. His assassination foreshortens any aspirations to return to 'goodness'.

Theme Analysis
Corruption
Corruption is one of the strongest themes running through this work as Willie's downfall is traced by Jack Burden. Many of the main events depend on this theme for the purposes of the plot. It is the corruption of others and the shoddy building of a school, for example, that allows Willie to be noticed as a possible candidate for Governor. However, this initial introduction to the race for Governor turns out to be a trick as Willie learns he is only there to split the vote of fellow democratic candidate, MacMurfee. This point is an open critique of political machinations. Once Willie gains power, he is seen to use his position to retain it by any means. From this moment, it becomes clear that power is corrupting him. Even his dream of building a hospital without the taint of bribes or backhanders is undone when he finally uses Gummy Larson in the construction in order to help his son (and himself) avoid public scrutiny for sexual misdemeanours. Although the corruption of morality is evident in the characterization of Willie, it is possible to argue that this novel as a whole is morally ambiguous. This is because Willie's aims to do good are founded on a regime that is unrepentantly corrupt. Furthermore, although it is clear that Willie becomes enmeshed in political intrigue, bribery and bullying to secure his position as Governor, because of Jack's ambivalence towards the concept of responsibility, and he is the first-person narrator, the narrative refuses to offer a clear indictment of Willie's actions.

Fatherhood
In All the King's Men, the relationship between fathers and sons is always written of in bleak terms. There is rivalry and betrayal, between various fathers and sons, and this is most evident in Jack's relationships with his father and father-figure. The importance of the role of the father is reiterated in his contempt for the man he believes is his father (Ellis Burden, the Scholarly Attorney) in the early chapters. This contempt is felt ostensibly because Jack blames him for leaving the marital home and it is as though Jack views this man as emasculated. The father and son relationship also allows for one of the cruel ironic twists of this work. This is achieved when Jack discovers the identity of his true biological father only after he (Judge Irwin) has committed suicide. This turn of events may be regarded as melodramatic.

The suicide of the Judge also emphasizes the extent of Jack's betrayal as he had viewed him as a father-figure before he knew he was his biological father. The son's search for truth at all costs is paid for with Judge Irwin's death and this exposes the symbolic, mythic rivalry between fathers and sons which dates back to the Bible and Greek myths (such as Oedipus). The third main father and son bond, between Willie and Tom Stark, is a counterbalance to the quasi relationship between Jack and the Scholarly Attorney. With Willie and Tom, the father draws on powerful masculine stereotypes to maintain the relationship, yet this also dissolves in a puddle of aggressive behavior and sexual bravado. The disappointed son is also given a form in the characterization of Adam Stanton. His father was a former Governor of Louisiana and Jack's search for 'dirt' on Judge Irwin also reveals that Adam's father ignored obvious signs of corruption.

Great Sleep
This is Jack's term for his retreat from the world and occurs in times of stress for him, such as when his marriage to Lois is collapsing and when he decides to stop working as a journalist. As the words Great Sleep imply, this means that he takes to sleeping for extended periods of time and signifies his apathy and refusal to engage with emotions or work. It also highlights his decision to separate himself from others around him.

Great Twitch
This theory of Jack's is first alluded to in Chapter Seven and is extended in Chapter Eight. It is in Chapter Eight, when Jack gives a lift to a man of 75 on his return to Louisiana, that Jack notes the uncontrolled twitch in the man's face. This twitch comes to represent a faith (if it may be called that) in contingency and the body. It is a despairing view and reflects how Jack has turned away from an emotional life and has disengaged with morality. It is, therefore, the opposite of Cass Mastern's belief in the 'spider web theory'. Jack's moral development is clear to see in Chapter Ten when he repudiates the Great Twitch in favor of the spider's web.

Spider web theory

This concept and theme originates in the beliefs of Cass Mastern and is one that Jack finally comes to understand in Chapter Ten. When Jack is originally researching Cass's life, he fails to appreciate Cass's understanding of moral responsibility as outlined in his theory of the spider's web. This is where Cass points out how, when one touches a

web, the reverberations and tremors may be felt across it. This is compared to the effect that one single action may have on others and is exemplified when Cass's affair leads indirectly and directly to the suicide of Duncan and to Annabelle selling Phebe.

Truth
Truth is inevitably the counter-theme to corruption and occupies Jack in his search for 'dirt' on Judge Irwin in particular. He uses the concept of truth as a justification for his actions which lead to the Judge's suicide. Because Jack uses truth as a moral justification, he forgets about loyalty and this, in turn, leads the readers to question how morally ambiguous the revelation of truth can be. It is also important to remember Jack's occupation when considering the use of the theme of truth. As a journalist, this should have been the framework he depended on; however, the novel makes it abundantly clear that the newspaper he worked for was biased against Willie Stark and did not attempt to be objective in its reporting of the news. Jack's resignation from the Chronicle demonstrates an adherence to the advertisement importance of truth, as does his desire to research for his PhD in American history. It could be argued, however, that by not completing this work (and refusing to open the parcel which contains Cass Mastern's old papers), Jack is figuratively trying to distance himself from matters of truth and conscience. Jack may be viewed, therefore, as an ambivalent figure that respects the concept of searching for the truth, but is also selective in his implementation of it. It is not until the novel's end that the reader can see he has grown in moral stature.