Donald Trump Is Not An Original Concept

By Patrick M

            Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel All The King's Men chronicles the fall of idealism and the coming of corruption in Depression era Louisiana. The novel does this through exploration of two men: Governor Willie Stark and a lawyer in service to him Jack Burden, the latter being the narrator of the novel. Burden acts as a witness to Stark's rise and fall from power, while exposing himself to be a moral parallel. These two are different versions of the same man, and in this way Warren effectively humanizes moral decay. These men were not evil from the start, and the answer to the question of who is truly responsible for bad things that happen is constantly distorted. This is illustrated especially in the thoughts of Jack Burden: "My only crime was being a man and living in a world of men." (All The Kings Men, 332)

            Robert Penn Warren's prose is outstanding. His choice to write the story in Jack Burden's first person perspective allows him to reflect on occurrences intensely, exploring philosophical qualms in ways reflect the thoughts of someone who has spent lots of time thinking about the world but has concluded nothing. Burden's endeavors into the past reveal Warren's reverence for the cyclical nature of history. Portraying the downfall of man in repetition adds weight to his message, displaying corruption as an inevitable entity, and the downfall of man as a defeat of the system. If there are any complaints as to how the novel is written, it would need to be that not all of Warren's explorations feel necessary. While impressively worded and full of high intellectual ideas, they do not always build toward the core of what the novel is about.

            The parallels of this novel to the modern political American environment are apparent. When one sees the system portrayed in All The Kings Men, it is easy to see how the flaws could amount to such a circus of a presidential election cycle that we are currently in. The false claims and bombastic tirades of modern candidates are very similar to a demagogue like Willie Stark. A novel like All The Kings Men, that so honestly and effectively portrays a cyclical and humanizing corruption of man is an essential read for anyone who has ever questioned the realities of power, and its effects on the psychosis of those that hold it.

Works Cited

Robert Warren Penn. All The Kings Men, First Harvest, 1946