Lit Analysis #1

All the King's Men by Robert Pen Warren

1. Summarize the plot of the novel. Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose.

All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren, is a story about a politician, Willie Stark, from the Deep South in the 1930s. Stark is born into poverty but works his way to governor. It’s also the story of Jack Burden, Stark’s right-hand man. Burden uses his abilities of a historical researcher to dig up the secrets of Stark’s enemies. Burden has to find the secrets of people he grew up with and the blackmail results in the suicide of Judge Irwin and the murder of Willie Stark.

·      Exposition: Willie Stark & Fam + Jack Burden, Sadie Burke, Sugar Boy, and Tiny Duffy driving into Mason City, Jack flashbacks to meeting Willie. Willie takes some pictures with his dad for press.

·      Rising Action/Conflict: Willie, Sugar Boy, & Jack drive to Burden’s Landing (Jack grew up there) late at night; Jack flashes back to childhood, playing with Anne Stanton, Judge Irwin living nearby and being Jack’s father figure. Willie threatens to use blackmail on Judge Irwin.

o   Internal Conflict for Jack: Jack & Judge close, Jack treating him poorly

o   1939- 6 years after threat and Willie, Adam Stanton (Anne’s father), and Judge Irwin are all dead but Jack “made the dirt stick” like he was suppose too. (Repeated line “Little Jackie made it stick, all right”)

o   Jack finds out that Judge Irwin accepted a bribe in 1914 and Adam Stanton (also former Governor) helped him cover it up.

·      Climax: Judge Irwin shoots himself because of the blackmail, Jack feels responsible for the death of his father figure; Tom Stark, Willie’s dad, breaks his neck while Jack is gone; Willie and Adam are both shot. (48 hour time period)

·      Falling Action: Tom: paralyzed; Adam: dead; Willie: dead; Irwin: dead. Jack finds out that Sadie Burke (Willie’s secretary) and Tiny Duffy (Willie’s hired thug) are the ones that called Adam, causing Willie’s death.

·      Resolution: Jack and Anne get married and Jack doesn’t end up dead like everybody else. Yay Jack.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

One theme is how memories and the past affect the lives of the present. Jack is constantly having flashbacks to earlier, happier days. When he was a child with Anne Stanton, or when he first met Willie. These flashbacks help the audience connect with Jack emotionally and explain why some of the things Jack had to do would be hard for him (ex. Finding dirt on Judge Irwin).

3. Describe the author's tone with 3 excerpts.

One tone the author uses is reverence. Jack, the narrator, starts the story off bringing his memories to life. The reader first assumes Jack uses flashbacks as a way to show what’s already happened in order to further the plot but later realizes that Jack almost worships his memories. He later becomes rather cynical, deciding everyone in the country is “cracked at the foundation” because America was “founded on slavery and racism”.

4. Describe 10 literary elements/techniques withe textual support.

·      Irony:  Stark believed that everything he was doing, and having done, were perfectly acceptable because the blackmailing money was going to hospitals and highways that would help the community.

·      Foreshadowing: Jack does a flashback to a memory of  Caroline Turner who was an abolitionist but when she got her own slaves she used to treat them horribly. He didn’t understand until he realized “she could not bear their eyes upon her. I understand, for I can not bear their eyes upon me.” This is foreshadowing how he will feel about Willie Stark later in the story.

·      Flashback:  Jack constently does flashbacks to help tell the story. He opens the story with the first time he met Willie as a flashback.

·      Repetition:  Jack repeats many things in his life. In his storytelling he repeats his use of flashbacks. And he is referenced to repeatedly as a guy who can get dirt on anyone. He uses this skill to repeatedly get information for Willie to use as blackmail.

·      Satire:  The American government is satirized throughout the entire novel.

·      Allusion:  Jack uses allusion every time he uses a flashback. (Keep coming back to that, I wonder if it’s at all important)

·      Surrealism:  The novel's psychological and philosophical themes are all wrapped into a story about corrupt politicians.