The Path of Transformation

My current read, All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, has had a slow start but the more I read into it the more the book grasps your attention. But the one thing I’m interested in analyzing at this point would be the character development, especially when concerning Willie Stark, the main character and political tyrant of the novel. In the beginning he plays a role as a politician for the people with liberal tax reforms, but as the book goes on, he soon becomes corrupted with a need for success and a lust for power. In chapter 2, Willie Stark relays the following: “I’m not going to read you any speech. You know what you need better’n I could tell you. But I’m going to tell you a story” (pg. 140). This is just a small moment from Willie’s first good speech. Transformed by the potent combination of Jack’s liquor and the cold hard truth, Willie changes into the Boss, and he can never go back. This passage also shows how a good story has the power to move us.

In my research and through analysis of the book itself, it’s often portrayed that Willie Stark is a barely fictional portrayal of Huey Long, the stereotypical southern demagogue, using his political power to accumulate benefits for himself and his political allies. Warren portrays him as the real life politician in a very interesting way, and I believe he does it very well.

 

3 Comments

  1. tlcteach

    (No need to “approve” this comment … this is just for you) . You perk your readers’ interest well here. What makes the speech that you reference in the first paragraph Willie’s “good” speech?

    I’m also curious as to WHY you think Warren portrays the real life politician in an interesting way? What makes the writing style so interesting?
    (hint: although a blog post, don’t let yourself lose sight of always answering the why, always addressing why the author makes the rhetorical decisions he does.) Maintain specificity, in other words, as the AP essay responses ask us to do.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m excited to see what you come up with as you move further into your book.

  2. tlcteach

    (No need to “approve” this comment … this is just for you) . You perk your readers’ interest well here. What makes the speech that you reference in the first paragraph Willie’s “good” speech?

    I’m also curious as to WHY you think Warren portrays the real life politician in an interesting way? What makes the writing style so interesting?
    (hint: although a blog post, don’t let yourself lose sight of always answering the why, always addressing why the author makes the rhetorical decisions he does.) Maintain specificity, in other words, as the AP essay responses ask us to do.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m excited to see what you come up with as you move further into your book.

  3. nickjg2020

    I am also surprised how the developing plot was able to capture my attention, even though it does seem to start out slower. Willie definatly develops as a character throughout the story, and has multiple personalities depending on the situation he is faced with. Warren’s portrayal of Stark does make for a thought provoking read. I do want to know how much of Huey Long’s personality is fabricated, but I assume it’s very little.

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