While no one really likes seeing a character in a movie or book die, I believe that many great books have some form of tragedy in them, including All the King’s Men. While Willie Stark’s death was tragic and unfortunate, it was drama and a climax everyone reading the novel needed. It was sad to see when I read about Willie’s death, since he truly had a rags to riches story. An “American dream” if you will. You don’t usually hear about those types of stories in the real world, which is why I was so happy for him when I learned that he came from a poor upbringing. However, Willie did not handle some situations in the book well, and didn’t always treat his staff––such as Jack, the narrator––with respect and kindness. The cause for his death was also the fact that he cheated on his wife, and some people could no longer trust him. While his death is conflicting since he wasn’t a great person but his rise to fame is a story that everyone loves, it was unfortunate that he was murdered. When I read it, I wasn’t very surprised and somewhat saw it coming, but it was still sad that one of the main character’s story had to end like that. Due to Willie’s death, Jack gets out of the world of politics and we soon find out that he never ends up going back. I honestly don’t blame him for doing that. He probably had too much trauma not only working for Willie and finding out everything else about the other candidates, but trauma from his untimely death as well.
Categories
Great American Novels 