William Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men is novel that explores the political society and its influences. Like several politicians in modern society, several characters have qualities that seem unsuitable to the impression that have made. These ironies in All the King’s Men reveal how the characters have flaws, which can result in critical consequences. Jack Burden, Adam Stanton, Judge Irwin and Willie Stark are characters that with ironic traits.
Jack Burden is known as the “student of history” ( Warren 372). The very fact that he is a historian is ironic, as he has come from an aristocratic and reputable family and grew up in Burden’s Landing. However, Jack lacks the ambition needed to excel in life and works for Willie, despite the disapproval of this family. He “not only lacks ambition, but all ‘essential confidence’ in himself” (Bloom 132). If he had ambition, he could have married Anne Stanton earlier, as Anne would always tell him to “go on back to State and finish up” and then she will marry him “even before [he] gets [his] law degree” (448). Yet, Jack forced himself to get kicked out of school. Even as a historian, Jack cannot deal with new things he learns about people he is closely associated with. After he learned that Lois was actually a person and not “merely a luscious machine” he went into one of series of the Great Sleep ( Warren 459). After he learned about Anne Stanton and Willie’s affair, Jack temporarily escaped to the West because “when [people] don’t like whey [the] are [they] always go West” (Warren 464). Jack was not able to cope with this news that he had to leave to relieve his mind. In addition, as a historian, he does not delve into his own past. Concerning his father, he only knew that the Scholarl...
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... its characters. These ironic flaws contribute to their sufferings throughout the novel. The flaws of Willie Stark, Adam Stanton and Judge Irwin led to the ultimate punishment, death, and Jack Burden’s flaws led to temporarily losing his love, Anne Stanton.
Works Cited
Baker, Joseph E. “Irony in Fiction: ‘All the King’s Men.’” College English. Vol. 9. JSTOR.
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Bloom, Harold. “’The Case of the Upright Judge’: The Nature of Truth in All the King's Men.”
Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men.” Questia School. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.
Martin, Glenn. “Diction in Warren’s ‘All the King’s Men.’” The English Journal. Vol. 58.
JSTOR. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.
Warren, Robert Penn. All the King’s Men. Orlando: Harcourt Inc., 1996.
Wright, Andrew H. “Irony and Fiction.” The Journal of Aestetics and Art Criticism.Vol.12.
JSTOR. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.
Without Anne three important characters, Adam Stanton, Willie Stark and Jack Burden would not have materialized into the roles their characters were meant to play. Anne Stanton although seemingly insignificant is vital to all three of their roles. Each of their roles is a crucial component to the novel as a whole and in the larger scheme of things a domino effect that adds purpose and meaning to the story. Anne’s loss of innocence displays maturation of a young girl to a women growing up surrounded in corruption of people she thought she could trust.
In America today, when the name of honor is often adulterated by glaring headlines proclaiming the guilt of an immoral politician or the fall of a disgraced executive, it is easy to forget that the country was founded for the pursuit of truth, for only in truth can people find real happiness. Thomas Jefferson famously included the pursuit happiness as an unalienable right in the Declaration of Independence, but in an intimate letter to William Roscoe, a British historian, Jefferson wrote, “This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead.” In his flagship novel, All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren embraces the Founding Father’s principles with his characterization of both Willie Stark and Jack Burden. Warren’s novel is an American classic because it traces the lives of two lost men as each man follows his personalized compass pointing towards complete understanding. After elevating him to unprecedented heights, Willie’s interpretation of truth returns to drag him down to the Underworld. Only when Jack learns that not even Willie can be omnipotent does he stop trying to understand everything. Willie Stark and Jack Burden embody the essence of Thomas Jefferson’s words because, in a sense, they both attain freedom through their pursuit of truth.
As Jack and Willie’s friendship developed so did Anne Stanton, Jack’s first love, and Willie Stark’s. Anne Stanton is an unfortunate woman who has no respect and throws herself at the most successful man she can find. As a political figure, Willie should lay low on the media, but that is not the case. Willie and Anne’s affair becomes known to their closest friends and results in murders and suicides. Was it really worth risking death over life? Willie’s affair with Anne is the most scandalous considering she is the daughter of the ex- governor. In the beginning of Warren’s drama filled novel, Willie was portrayed as a good man; a man of the people. Cass, on the other hand, did not become a good person till after his affair with Annabelle, due to his escalated feeling of guilt. Willie’s Cass Mastern episode changed him from good to evil unlike Cass’s positive evil to good
As one can see, Harriet, Dick and Reverend Lewis Merrill, even though they are all minor characters, affect the major characters, such as Johnny and Owen with their identity, or personality. Without these characters, the novel would never be the same. As Alan Rudolph said, “Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth.”
If only time travel were possible, the past would no longer be an entity to regret. Every single person on this planet has regrets of unfulfilled past opportunities, and that is no exaggeration. No human can honestly say they have lived a life with no regrets. One of the main flaws of human nature is hindsight, or the ability to look back on past mistakes and form new ideas as to how the situation could have better been handled. In the story All the King’s Men, Jack Burden is his own worst enemy. Jack takes everything to the heart, no matter how menial the comment or action. He allows his past to rule his life as though history repeats itself without fail. The person allowing the past to repeat itself is Jack, however his so-called best friend Willie shares the blame. Willie is the reason for most of Jack’s misfortunes although Jack always has the option to walk away but never does. The downfall of man will be none other than himself. For example, no critic but the artist who created the work will see each and every flaw. In All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren utilizes a myriad of characters and their emotions to display morose obsessions with previous faults.
Warren, Robert Penn. All The King’s Men. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996. Print.
Wilson, Deirde & Dan Sperber. "On Verbal Irony." The Stylistics Reader. Ed. Jean Jacques Weber. London: Arnold, 1996. 260-279.
As Norman Rabkin has observed, Henry V is a play which organizes critics into "rival camps" of interpretation (35). It can be seen as a play that is ambiguous; a play that exposes the playwright's own indecision; a play that aggressively takes sides in favour of nationalistic fervour which Shakespeare himself didn't believe in (35). All of these views, writes Rabkin, are wrong since according to him the play's "ultimate power" lies in its ability to "point in two opposite directions, virtually daring us to choose one of the two opposed interpretations" (36). In fact, it is Rabkin that is wrong: not in his supposition that the play "dares" the audience to choose, but rather, that a reading of Henry V cannot simultaneously contain all of the above. Another view would be that the ambiguity, the indecision, the disbelief and the forced choice, are all part and parcel of an urgently ironic reading. This can be justified through the ultimate irony of the play: that as "character driven," it lacks a real character to drive. "The King," after all, is an abstract concept bounded by prescribed rules of conduct in contradiction to subjective agency. This reading borrows from post-colonial critiques such as Spivak, since it leads to authority as being responsible for generating its own excesses by virtue of what it is; it winds up parodying itself. It is a devastating critique of governance and for those that seek to govern; in this reading, Henry V may go beyond Machiavellian orchestrations to undermining the entire project of governance.
abandoned cattle bellow on the high roads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere and
There are few characters in this story, but they all play an important part. The characters are Mrs. Mallard, Josephine, Richards, and Brently Mallard. Mrs. Mallard and Brently Mallard are married and live together in the house that the story takes place in. Josephine is Mrs. Mallard’s sister and she is the one who would break the news to her about Brently Mallards death in the railroad accident. Finally Richards who is Brently Mallards good friend, and he is the one who found out about Brently Mallards death.
As Leonard Cohen once said, “There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in”. Nothing in life is perfect, and people are not an exception. One of the most efficient ways to demonstrate a flaw is irony. Through the use of irony in The Crucible, Arthur Miller highlights man’s inevitable fallibility.
the play, it seemed that Othello was the only one who didn't know the truth.
First, Robert Penn Warren portrays the power of the knowledge when Willie ordered Jack to persuade one of his friends, Adam Stanton, to accept his offer. Willie offered Adam to run his hospital. Adam at first declines the offer, but Jack plans to use his knowledge he learned about Judge Irwin (which connects to Adam’s father) to compel him to take the job. "I can change that picture of the world he carries around in his head"(248). Although the data that Jack was wiling to share with Adam could potentially shatter Adam’...
The irony is also an example of showing character appeal. He is showing his attitude toward the society. As the reader reads his humorous and satirical essay, the reader would notice that there is irony everywhere. One example is when the Mark Twain discussed on page 7 paragraph 3 “Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers and sometimes to others.” (7). Even though he is telling the youth to respect your superiors. He also tells the youth that if they are ever offended or think you were offended, hit them with a brick. With that said how is the youth supposed to respect their superiors? Also, he mentions that in paragraph 3 “yes, always avoid violence; in this age of charity and kindliness, the times has gone by for such things,” (7) but he says hit people with bricks. Another example of irony is on page 7 paragraph 5 “you want to be very careful about lying,” (7) but he doesn’t tell the youth not to lie at all. Unlike most elderly people if they were giving advice. Which is very ironic how he is trying to let the youth know that it is appropriate to lie, but don’t get caught. Also, this is what brings me back to the quote “truth is mighty and will prevail.” If the youth are good liars, would this quote be truth? Can the truth over power a lie? That is what Mark Twain is trying to say, with good practice how would you ever get caught? He also refers to the lying
Chaucer's Irony - The Canterbury Tales Chaucer's Irony Irony is a vitally important part of The Canterbury Tales, and Chaucer's ingenious use of this literary device does a lot to provide this book with the classic status it enjoys even today. Chaucer has mastered the techniques required to skilfully put his points across and subtle irony and satire is particularly effective in making a point. The Canterbury Tales are well-known as an attack on the Church and its rôle in fourteenth century society. With the ambiguity introduced by the naïve and ignorant "Chaucer the pilgrim", the writer is able to make ironic attacks on characters and what they represent from a whole new angle. The differences in opinion of Chaucer the pilgrim and Chaucer the writer are much more than nuances - the two personas are very often diametrically opposed so as to cause effectual irony.