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.
Personal history plays the main role in the life story of Jack Burden and/or Willie Stark. Jack’s fixation with his past drives him directly into Willie’s arms as a means of finding dirt on others. Jack’s upbringing with Adam brings Adam into the whole scheme of the hospital and Willie’s ultimate demise. The author writes, “It was Adam Stanton. I saw that his clothes were soaked and that mud and filth were sloped up his trousers half to the knees. I understood the abandoned car. He had walked away from it, in the rain. (…) his eyes were on the Boss, not on me. “Adam,” I...
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...ortant, as no flaws can be corrected without the realization of human imperfection. The scapegoat method of Jack’s does not work in reality; either responsibility is taken and advances are made, or obsessions over past occurrences will develop. Life can either be full of regrets, or full of satisfaction.
Works Cited
Warren, Robert Penn. All the King’s Men. New York: Harcourt, 2002. Print.
Bolch, Judith. "All The King’S Men." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. Web. 7 May 2014.
Lavender, Amy K. "Time And Space Connect The World In Robert Penn Warren's All The King's Men." RWP: Annual Of Robert Penn Warren Studies 6.(2006): 73-81. Humanities International Complete. Web. 7 May 2014.
Snipes, Katherine. "All The King’S Men." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 7 May 2014.
Labin, Linda. ”Harrison Bergeron.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition. 2004: 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 12 March 2014.
“I have learned this: it is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes of as a consequence of it – Oscar Wilde” (Page before page number one).This quote comes from the book Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos. The main topics involve recovering from mistakes and overcoming setbacks. Everyone should read his book because everyone can take something away from it. Audience, voice, and content are the key points for review.
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.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Willie asks Jack to search for secrets on a father figure from his child hood. Judge Irwin was a father figure in Jack’s life as a child. In this situation, Jack’s motivation and responsibility to himself is questioned. Jack discovers that Judge Irwin accepted a bribe and Governor Stanton covers the bribe up. The blackmail influences the suicide of Judge Irwin, makes Adam Stanton accept the position as head of the hospital that Willie is building, and Anne Stanton begins an affair with Willlie. Adam murders Willie when he finds out about Willie and Anne. This horrific event lead to Jack’s retiring from politics forever.
Whether it is miniscule things like Tom’s character and Daisy’s sobriety or larger scale things like buying a house or throwing extravagant parties, the past and the experiences it holds are a major component in people’s present and future lives. Considering all this, I think it’s appropriate to consider what this realization can mean and how one can use it for the better. If it’s so evident that the past affects one future, there must be ways to use this positively and take advantage of the phenomenon. In The Great Gatsby, after all drama had been completed, Nick Carraway ends his narration by deciding to take what has happened and try to move on. Nick affirms, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald
In the same way, both Wes Moore’s both regret in their childhood and through their adulthood about their mistake in their lives. This point is illustrated in the passage, “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” (Quoted from Samuel Buckett)...“Failing does not make us a failure. But not trying to do better, to be better, does make us fools” (Moore 185). The explanation of quote point is the quote is to attempt till you succeed or never surrender. On the chance that you come up short once, attempt once more. On the chance that you fall flat second time, do it again. This disappointment again ought to be superior to the past disappointment. There ought to be some realizing and some change. They cannot make it in the first attempt. The (author) Wes Moore acknowledges and tries to enhance by taking a shot at the reasons of his
Magill, Frank N. ed. Masterplots II: Short Story Series. Vol 5 Pru-Ter. California: Salem Press, Inc. 1986.
“If the human race didn’t remember anything it would be perfectly happy" (44). Thus runs one of the early musings of Jack Burden, the protagonist of Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men. Throughout the story, however, as Jack gradually opens his eyes to the realities of his own nature and his world, he realizes that the human race cannot forget the past and survive. Man must not only remember, but also embrace the past, because it teaches him the truth about himself and enables him to face the future.
Bernardo, Jr., Anthony J. “The Veldt.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Bernardo, Jr., Anthony J. “The Veldt.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.
Bily, Cynthia A. "Annabel Lee." Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (2002): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The hindsight bias, as defined in the article Hindsight Bias and Developing Theories of Mind by Andrew N. Meltzoff and Geoffrey R. Loftus, occurs when “people armed with advanced knowledge of an outcome overestimate the likelihood of that particular outcome, in essence claiming that they ‘knew it all along’” (Meltzoff). People who are victims of this very common bias can be drawn to the idea of going to the past to fix all of their problems because they live in the present. Knowing what the present holds, people believe that if they went back in time, they could change the future and, in turn, have a better