About the Author
Robert Penn Warren enjoyed a distinguished career as a novelist, poet, scholar, university professor, and man of letters. His first widely read work was the […]
Month: August 2008
Setting
All the King’s Men describes the rise and fall of Willie Stark, a political boss and governor of an unnamed southern state, during the late […]
Themes and Characters
nstead of presenting Stark as a monster of evil and iniquity, a nightmarish demagogue who exploits the poor and middle-class citizens who form his constituency, […]
Literary Qualities
All the King’s Men draws on a rich tradition of literature, ranging from Jacobean drama to the novels of William Faulkner. Parallels with Faulkner, an […]
Social Sensitivity
All the King’s Men abounds with moral ambiguities. Violence, betrayal, blackmail, infidelity, and political corruption shape the plot line, and the conclusion does not present […]
Topics for Discussion
1. What attracts passive characters such Jack Burden and Anne Stanton to Willie Stark? 2. Sometimes Stark seems to be less of an individual than […]
Ideas for Reports and Papers
1. Throughout the novel Jack seems to have been telling Willie Stark’s story, but in the end the reader learns that the story equally belongs […]
Adaptation
Robert Rossen directed a black and white film adaptation of All the King’s Men in 1949. This picture was considered the kind of “serious” effort, […]
Introduction
Published in 1929, All Quiet on the Western Front masterfully depicts the horror of war. Erich Maria Remarque based the book on his own experience […]