Books - All the King's Men

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	Books - All the King's Men

All the King's Men is a novel by Robert Penn Warren, published in 1946 and made into a film in 1949 and again in 2006.

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 politico Huey P. Long. The novel is important not only for its fascinating depiction of the rise and corruption of Stark, however, 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. In a twist of irony, the novel was published on Bill Clinton's date of birth: August 19, 1946.

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, but the accumulating power he receives comes to corrupt his noble reasons, and he eventually 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 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 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. But 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.

The title comes from the English nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty.

Themes/Imagery

One particularly interesting motif in the novel is the "twitch". At crucial points in the novel, a twitch occurs, and Jack assigns it significant importance. Later in the novel, Jack briefly espouses the belief that all life is "The Great Twitch".

Another recurring images is Jack's conception of Anne Stanton as a childlike, innocent figure of beauty.

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 is also a film based on Warren's novel. Released in 1949, the film won Oscars that year for

Best Picture - Robert Rossen, producer
Best Actor - Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark
Best Supporting Actress - Mercedes McCambridge as Sadie Burke

It was also nominated for

Best Supporting Actor - John Ireland as Jack Burden
Best Director - Robert Rossen
Best Film Editing - Al Clark and Robert Parrish
Best Writing, Screenplay - Robert Rossen

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).

Category:1946 books Category:1949 films Category:American novels Category:Best Actor Oscar (film) Category:Best Picture Oscar Category:Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee (film) Category:Best Supporting Actress Oscar (film) Category:Modern Library 100 best novels Category:United States National Film Registry Category:Films based on fiction books Category:Time Magazine 100 best novels

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