Carmen Colosi ATKM Character List

Men:

1. Adam Stanton: Adam is a man of action. He sticks to his set of clean-cut morals and refuses move when he finds the circumstances dire. Jack was able to find Adams true weakness: doing good. Adam won't take a money bribe, refuses to be pushed by fear into the job, and has no need for personal gain. In the beginning of the book Adam starts out as a man who does things out of his need to help. For example when Adam is offered a bribe by Hubbert Coffee to ruin the building contract for the new hospital he gets so enraged that he punches Coffee. In this act Adam shows that he is able to put his personal differences aside and put the good of the community first. Adam despises that there is so much politics surrounding the act of helping others that he threatens to quit, but he continues in an attempt to help the people who are going to use the hospital. In the end, Adam takes a turn on the dark side when he is told about Anne`s affair with Willie and his father protecting the Judge in court. Adam`s worldview is shattered and his sense of right and wrong is ruined. He is so upset and angered that he shoots Willie Talos. But Adam is the victim of the circumstances he was in and he should not be penalized as a character for what happened to him.

2. Hugh Miller: Hugh has good morals and sticks to them. He is not one to waver and he was sure he did not want any part in the "Dirty" work that Willie was doing. Hugh wanted his hands clean from all the bribery and the corruption. Overall Hugh is one of the most honorable men in All The King`s Men.

3. Gov Stanton: Gov Stanton is, for the most part, a good person. He ran a good term and did for the public what was necessary without getting too much dirt on his hands. The only fault in Governor Stanton is the fact that he covered for Judge Irwin when the Judge took a bribe in order to keep his land. This can be justified however with the fact that the Judge only took the bribe in an attempt to keep his own home. The fact that the Governor covered for the Judge says that the Governor is compassionate.

4. Sugar Boy: Sugar Boy was, “Irish, from the wrong side of the tracks” (5). His job was to drive Willie around and act as Willie`s bodyguard. Sugar Boy loved and worshiped Willie partly because Willie valued Sugar Boy and because Sugar Boy came from a large family he did not get much attention. Sugar Boy progressively gets more and more attached to Willie as the story progresses. In the end Sugar Boy shoots Adam Stanton in an attempt to defend Willie.

5. Cass Mastern: Cass is an idealist who has just as much good in him as he does bad. Cass is an idealist who, like Jack, writes in journals. Cass assists his friend Annabelle in cheating on her loving husband Duncan. This is the part where Cass does wrong by his friend in sleeping with his wife and he, “lay in the very bed belonging to Duncan” (242). However when the affair is over and Duncan shoots himself because of it Annabelle sells her slave Phebe and Cass goes and tries to find her, “to buy her and set her free” (252). Cass does not find Phebe but frees his own slaves. Cass` good side and bad side cancel each other out and that is why he is in the middle of the men.

6. Judge Irwin:Judge Irwin was a judge in Burden's Landing, where Jack grew up, and Jack`s father. The Judge refuses to be a part of or support Willie Talos` campaign which can make him an honest man, however he also took a bribe from the American Electric Power Company, a player in an important lawsuit, in order to keep his land. This action was abuse of his power for his own personal gain and did not serve the justice that he was put in that position to do. The Judge was distraught about being blackmailed for this act and did not want to face and own up to what he did so he committed suicide. Not only did he abuse his power but when faced with the consequences, he chose to run rather than own up to what he did.

7. Jack Burden:  Jack is the main character in the book and the storyline, for the most part, follows what he does. Jack is an idealist who is very complex in nature. In some ways Jack turns a blind eye to what he does for Willie in that he has a sort of numbness when it comes to his dirty work, allowing him to complete his tasks. He is a student of history and he says that, “a student of history does not care what he digs up” (223). That is Jack`s way of numbing himself to the truth and reality of his kind of work. Jack`s black book is full of the “dirt” he digs up on people. Because Jack knowingly nums himself he is able to hurt his friend`s families, blackmail someone he has always looked up to, and force his best friend into a job he dislikes. Jack blindly follows and does what Willie asks.

8. Tom Talos: Tom was a character with a lack of heart and emotions. He grew up in an unstable family. Tom made the active choice to drive drunk with a girl in the car and he ended up getting in a devastating accident. He was able to crawl away from the scene and run all the while leaving the girl barely alive and on the ground. This shows a lack of remorse toward others and almost psychopathic ways of thinking. However, Tom cannot be completely blamed for he had Willie as a father and looked up to a man with no remorse.

9. Tiny Duffy: Tiny is the person who caused the death of Willie and Adam. Tiny was strung along by Willie for years and did his bidding only to stab him in the back. Tiny called Adam and told him that Anne was sleeping with Willie and that his father had protected the Judge when the Judge had taken a bribe to throw a case. Tiny had the chance to throw the Talos administration and he took it. He told Adam and shattered his view on the world. When Jack confronted Tiny about it all Tiny could muster to say, to care about was, “It wont stand in a court,” meaning that he had little remorse for what he did and how he did it (577). Like Many others in the book Tiny was someone that Willie strung along, “to spit on him,” and Tiny was a victim of the Willie Talos effect and got fed up with it (576).

10.Willie Talos: Willie is the cause of most of the grief in the book, aside from Cass and Annabelle. First off he has multiple affairs, thus cheating on his wife Lucy. He leaves Lucy at home with Tom abandoning them both for his extravagant life and only coming back to them when he absolutely needs them. First he has an affair with Sadie, stringing her along and then abandoning her. Then he has an affair with Anne which he knows will hurt Jack, Sadie, and Adam.He takes advantage of Anne`s need for a man of power. Willie doesn't care about who he is hurting or putting down for his own personal advancement. He bosses and abuses his power over Tiny Duffy and Sugar Boy. He makes dirty deals and digs up dirt on well meaning people. He made Jack dig up dirt on Judge Irwin, whom he knew Jack was close with, and then made Jack go present this blackmail to the Judge. Willie`s one redeeming quality is that he did all of this in order to build a hospital, of course for his own political advancement. Willie shows signs of being a psychopath. People are drawn to him and he only uses them when he deems it necessary.

Women:

1.Phebe: Phebe was by far the most innocent and respectable of the characters in the entire novel. She was born into slavery and although she accepted her fate without fighting, she never intentionally hurt anybody. The only harm we ever saw her do was to give Annabelle her wedding ring after Duncan has died. The fact that, “She[Phebe] knows--she will always look at me,” drove Annaelle crazy and she sold Phebe off (248). Phebe was being an obedient slave in giving Anabelle her husbands ring back, and she meant no harm in the gesture. If anything it was an act that showed her lack of greed because Phebe could have stolen the ring and ran off with it. Phebe is a victim of the circumstances and acted in the way of basic human kindness

2. Lois: Lois was also a victim of circumstance. Unfortunately, we don't really get to see Lois as a person because the story is through Jack's eyes. She never did anything that was meant to intentionally hurt someone.

3. Lucy Talos: Lucy is overall a good woman and one of the best people in the book, however like the rest of Willie`s clan she follows him blindly. Lucy has compassion and she does many great things in the book; care for Willie`s dad, take care of Tom, and takes on the responsibility of caring for Tom`s baby. She does follow Willie blindly because, “he was a great man...I have to believe that” (593). She uses that as a coping method to deal with the fact that her husband, “made bad mistakes” (593). This is simply human though. She needed a way to deal with what life had handed her so she turned a blind eye to Willies faults.

4. Jack`s Mom: Jack`s mom was for the most part a good and loving mother. Like every mother-son relationship they fought and disagreed but Jack always felt that if he needed to, he could go home and stay with her. Her one flaw is that she kept the identity of Jack`s father a secret from Jack which kept him forever guessing. Eventually she reveals the truth to Jack, but by that time it is too late. Had she told him earlier the whole situation could have been avoided and possibly Jack would have been able to have more trusting relationships.

5. Annabelle Trice: Annabelle is a woman who got bored with her marriage to Duncan and decided to seduce and start an affair with Cass Mastern. She was the one who acted upon the sexual tension between the two by saying, “‘Cass...Kiss me” (241). It was on Cass that he kissed her but Annabelle was the one who initiated the affair. When Duncan committed suicide and Phebe found out about the affaire Annabelle went crazy and sent Phebe, “down the river,” so she “won't look at me anymore like that” (249). Phebe had friends and a husband and Annabelle ruined Phebe`s life just because she couldn't handle her own guilt. Annabelle was one of the most bitter and indecisive characters in the book.

6. Anne Stanton: Anne is very like Annabelle in that she is indecisive and takes part in adultery. Anne decides that she loves Jack and wants to be with him so she leads him on and then she decides that he is not driven enough so she slowly breaks off their engagement. Anne starts an affair with Jack`s married boss, Willie. Anne knows that in starting her affaire she would be hurting her brother, Jack, Lucy, Tom, Saide, and even herself. Anne is selfish in that she keeps calling Jack and asking him for favors after they break off their engagement and even when she has an affaire with Willie knowing that Jack loves her and will do anything for her. At times it can be so much that one could argue that she abuses the power she knows she has over him.

7. Sadie: Sadie also had an affair with Willie and would get jealous of Anne because of her affair with Willie. Out of all of the women Sadie was the most selfish and the most unstable. Sadie hurt Lucy with her affair and knowingly spoke with Lucy and had casual conversations with her. Sadie was bitter and wanted revenge on Anne and the Stanton family. Willie told Sadie that he was going to commit to Lucy and Sadie couldn't handle being abandoned and was so angry that she provided Tiny Duffy with the information he needed to take down the Talos administration. Sadie told Tiny Duffy to call Adam Stanton and tell him the news about Anne and his father at the same time. She told Jack that, “He [Willie] was throwing me over...For that Lucy. After all I had done. After I made him...Just like a flash I knew I'd kill him” (571). This proves how Sadie let herself become so emotionally dependant on Willie that she decided to give Duffy the information he needed to kill Willie. If Sadie couldn't have Willie then nobody could.

ATKM last post-Izzy Snow

My order-Best to Worst

1. Cass Mastern: Although Cass Mastern did ultimately help ruin his best friend's marriage (and life), when he finds out what Annabelle did, he gives up his life to find Phebe. This shows that Cass Mastern was a man of principles and inherently good natured. Although he made a few mistakes, Cass realized the impact his choice had and changed for the better. He is one of the few characters in the book who isn't guided by selfish behavior. He never forgets his mistakes. He wears Duncan's ring around his neck as he travels to find Phebe and as he enters the war. Unlike many of the characters, Cass does not accept the bad decisions he makes and instead searches for atonement.

2. Gilbert Mastern: Gilbert Mastern is a man that is rooted in good principles. He believes in hard work and education and puts his own life aside to educate his brother. He also lets his brother freely control the plantation. He is resistant to some of Cass's wishes, but in the end he lets Cass sell the slaves. Gilbert also understands the importance of Cass's story. He sends it to Jack because he recognizes Cass's good character and believes that his story should be told. This shows he is a considerate, kind man.

3. Hugh Miller: Hugh Miller is net on the list because he sticks to his inherent good principles. Unlike other characters, Hugh is true to his beliefs and decides to leave his job because of this. Once he has realized he has been manipulated by Willie, he fully understands Willie's deceitful tactics and decides to leave. He recognizes he would rather stick to his beliefs than have more power.

4. George: George is a good-natured man. However, he does mooch of the Scholarly Attorney, such as making the Attorney give him bread so he can make his statues. He is very grateful for the Scholarly Attorney's help and loves him like a father.

5. Scholarly Attorney: The Scholarly Attorney is a good character because he decides not to associate himself with Governor Stanton and the judge after they accept the bribe. Jack thinks the Attorney is a little bit of a hopeless flake, as for most of his life Jack sees the Attorney as his father. After the Attorney left Jack and his mother, he gave his life up to care for "unfortunates". This is driven by his religious beliefs and maybe a little guilt for abandoning Jack and his mother. Similar to Cass, he does give up his life to aid those in need.

6. Governor Stanton: Although the Governor was a part of a deal that made the judge successful but drove Mr. Littlepaugh to suicide, he raised his children with good morals. Stanton was a lot like Willie, as he recognized the risks one had to take in politics. However, he tried to make sure his children would never experience that side of politics. This shows he was caring, a good father, and a good man. When Jack descries him, he recognizes that Stanton was always present in his children's lives. He seemed to live a slightly corrupt political life, but he never brought that to his children.

7 Judge Irwin: Judge Irwin made some corrupt mistakes in his younger days. As he tries to move farther away from that life. He, along with Hugh, refuses to be associated with Willie when he discovers Willie's political strategies. Judge is a father figure towards Jack, Anne and Adam. However, he never tells Jack that he is his real father. Also, his abandonment of Jack's mother break's Jack's mother for all her future relationships, as she continues to love the Judge. Despite the fact that his mistakes were made long ago, he prefers to end his life than confront his past.

8. Jack: Jack drifts in and out from being good and bad. Jack had little principle and accepts his frequent use of blackmail. Jack also can be exceptionally rude and judgmental. However, Jack is a good hearted person. He sticks with Willie because he recognizes that Willie's intentions are good. He also loves Anne because of her good nature. Towards the end of the book, Jack is more mature and good-natured. The reader can see change's in Jack's personality when he accepts his mother, when he decides not to pursue Duffy, when the writes the story of Cass Mastern and when he develops a friendship with Hugh Miller.

9. Willie: Willie is a good man, as he gains power so he can help the public. He builds new roads, hospitals, and government buildings. On the other side, Willie is manipulative, cruel and he has little empathy for the weak. He repeatedly cheats on his wife, ends other's careers and blackmails his enemies. He is seen as both an evil figure and a strong, good hearted man by Jack throughout "All The King's Men". An example of this is his relationship with Tom from Jack's point of view. He pressures Tom so much so that Tom physically suffers from it multiple times. When Tom dies, he also decides that he does not want the hospital to be built under a blackmailed deal. Willie is reminded of his good intentions through his relationships with Lucy, Anne, Jack, Sadie, and Tom. They all see him as a powerful leader with good intentions and this encourages Willie to continue to provide services for the public.

10. Adam: Adam is an example of a character with moral principles so strong that it makes him angry and agressive. He ends up being a murderer because he blindly sees Willie as evil. He is so blinded by anger he does not see how much the public benefits from government service.

11. Tom: Tom Talos is spoilt. Willie and Lucy raised him with little of the same moral principles and ambition. Tom recognizes his talent for football and decides to use this to his advantage. He refuses to participate in training and he tries to use his celebrity to get women, cars, and liquor.

12. Tiny Duffy: Duffy is the worst character. His only ambition is to be with the most powerful leader. In the end, he realizes he can no longer manipulate Willie, so he causes his death. Duffy ends up with the most power, but he only wants power to have power and could care less about the public.

Women

1. Lucy: Lucy continues to be a good hearted figure throughout the book. Many times Jack admires her fro inherent goodness. She still loves both Willie and Tom, no matter how much they disappoint her. In the end, she ends up caring for Tom's baby and makes sure Sybil, the mother, has enough money to start a new life.

2. Phebe: Phebe is loyal to her employers. She discover's Duncan's ring under the pillow after his suicide. When she shows it to Annabelle. Annabelle's paranoia leads her to sell Phebe. Annabelle sees Phebe's goodness and loyalty and understands the weight of her mistakes. To Annabelle, Phebe is a symbol of her (similarly loyal) husband's death.

3. Anne: Anne Stanton is seen as the innocent, saint like figure in "All the King's Men." She is good natured, but at times recognizes her ability to manipulate men. She can easily manipulate both Jack and Adam into helping her and uses this to her advantage. However, she recognizes her privileged upbringing and gives her life to helping organizations such as the children's hospital.

4. Lois: Lois is seen as a two-dimensional character in "All the King's Men". Jack only sees her as a sexual object and when he discovers she is more, the marriage suffers. Lois has little patience for Jack as well. She leaves him for his lack of ambition (the great sleep) and his cruelty.

5. Jack's Mom: Jack's Mom pressures Jack, but only because like any parent, she wants the best for him. She holds herself to a low moral standard as she embarks on many painful relationships. Like Jack, she is very judgmental. Unlike Jack, she is also materialistic. She also refuses to tell Jack that the Judge is his father. However, she loves both Jack and the Judge dearly. After the Judge's death, she confronts her won life and realizes she must leave her relationship and Burden's landing. This shows great strength in her character.

6. Sadie: Sadie is apart of Willie's corrupt team. She loves Willie, but her insecurity ends up causing his death. She directs Duffy to tell Adam to kill Willie. She feels used by him, as he moves on to Anne Stanton and then decides to stay with his wife after Sadie helped start his career. Sadie's selfish acts are, in part, caused by her blind love for Willie.

7. Anabelle: Annabelle Trice is the most corrupt female character. She is cruel, manipulative and selfish. She sells one of her slaves because she cannot combat her mistakes. She also flirts with Cass in-front of her husband. Her mistake costs her her husband's life, Cass, and her most loyal housemaid.

Hollander Hierarchy

In order from "good" to "bad"

Lucy: “Lucy Talos looked up at the Boss right quick, then looked away, and straightened a salt-shaker. At first guess it might have been the look any wife gives her husband when he shoves back after supper and announces he thinks he’ll step down town for a minute. Then you knew it wasn’t that. It didn’t have any question, or protest, or rebuke, or command, or self-pity, or whine, or oh-so-you-don’t-love-me-any-more in it.” (51) And, “I helped Lucy with hers, and then she picked up the other one and helped him [Willie]. They started for the door. HE had drawn himself erect now and looked straight ahead, but her hand was still on his arm, and if you had seen them you would have got the impression that she was expertly and tactfully guiding a blind man.” (532) Lucy stands by Willie even through his affairs, drinking, and spotty temperaments. Even though she does not agree with Willie most of the time, she undeniably and heartily supports him. And although she is disappointed by Willie’s failure to live up to her moral standards, she forgives him and instead focuses on their son Tom.

Phebe: “‘She knows… she will tell. All of them will know. All of them in the house will look at me and know - when they hand me the dish - when they come into the room - and their feed don’t make any noise!’” (248) Phebe found Duncan’s ring after he killed himself and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is Annabelle’s slave and was tragically sold after her discovery.

Anne: Anne was distraught at Jack’s lack of ambition and for this reason, refused to become more involved with him. Near the middle of the book, she betrays Jack and commits to being Willie’s mistress, maybe because Willie was entirely made of ambition. She is a crucial character and her personality shines through.

Jack’s Mother: “‘Don’t be vulgar,” she said, because she definitely did not like what is known as vulgarity in conversation. ‘It’s the truth,’ he said.” (226) Jack’s mother, we never actually learned her name, was a materialistic phony woman who heavily relied on men. The relationships throughout her life were constantly unusual, evidenced by her and Jack’s relationship. It seemed that she would do whatever it took to please everyone.

Sadie: “There was Sadie, who had come a long way from the shanty in the mud-flats. She had come a long way because she played to win and she didn’t mean to win matches and she knew that to win you have to lay your money on the right number and that if your number doesn’t show there’s a fellow standing right there with a little rake to rake in your money and then it isn’t yours any more. She had been around a long time, talking to men and looking them straight in the eye like a man. Some of them liked her, and those that didn’t like her listened when she talked, which wasn’t too often, because there was reason to believe that when those big black eyes, which were black in a way which made it impossible for you to tell whether it was a blackness of surface or a blackness of depth… ‘I’ve got my arrangements, and I stick to my arrangements as long as I’ve got my arrangements.’” (119) “‘He’s [Willie] got to come back, do you hear? He’s got to. Because he can’t do without me. And he knows it. He can do without any of those sluts, but he can’t do without me. Not without Sadie Burke, and he knows it.’” (206) And, “I had also found out that Sadie Burke had put the weapon into Duffy’s hand and had aimed it for him, that she, too, had killed Willie Talos.” (572) Sadie is a jealous, vulnerable, and hard working employee of Willie. She has a ruthless burning desire to succeed will do whatever it takes to succeed. Sadie plays a role in creating who Willie turned out to be; she is always by his side providing him with information and tips.

Adam: “‘You want to do good… That you can’t see somebody sick without having to put your hands on him. That you can’t see somebody with something broken without wanting to fix it. Somebody with something rotten inside him without wanting to take a knife in your strong, white, and damned well-educated fingers, pal, and cut it out.’” (332) Adam was one of the protagonists who truly only wanted to do good in the world by helping everyone he could. His actions at the end of the book (killing Willie) are justified with the newly acquired knowledge of the betrayals of his closest friends and family.

Hugh Miller: Much like Willie, Hugh is a politician seeking reform yet unlike Willie, he opposes corruption. He is arguably one of the most genuine characters who remains ethical and refuses to get involved in any kind of “dirt.”

Sugar Boy:  “‘What would you do?’ I demanded. ‘I’d kill the son-of-a-bitch,’ he said. And he had not stuttered at all. ‘They’d hang you,’ I said. ‘I’d k-k-k-kill him. They couldn’t h-h-h-hang me before I killed him.’” (584) Sugar Boy’s pure devotion to the Boss is evident in the book and at times, seems a little too over the top. However, he is one of the more pure characters in the book, seeming to escape any fatal deeds (other than killing Adam, which in his mind was absolutely necessary).

Judge: “All I was doing was trying to prove Judge Irwin innocent. I would be able, sooner or later, to go to the Boss and say, ‘No sale, Boss. He is washed in the Blood.’” (302) Judge Irwin made a crucial mistake when he was younger and lived the rest of his life attempting to forget the incident and become a better and bigger person. He proved to be the bigger person by not divulging the fact that he was Jack’s true birthfather as this would ruin both Jack and his mother. He was forced to stand on the sidelines throughout Jack’s childhood, something that must have been very painful for him. Also, even when Jack accused him of his horrendous act and attempted to blackmail him, the Judge remained calm and still did not divulge his agonizing secret.

Jack: “I was supposed to do a lot of different things, and one of them was to lift up fifteen-year-old, hundred-and-thirty-five-pound hairy, white dogs on summer afternoons and paint an expression of unutterable bliss upon their faithful features as they gaze deep, deep into the Boss’s eyes.” (39) “Little Jackie made it stick, all right.” (72) Throughout the book, Jack has his highs and lows and is oftentimes the protagonist. However, his actions cannot always be justified and his deeds are almost never pure. One of the most horrid actions that he took was finding the dirt on the Judge, even after everything the Judge did for Jack when he was growing up. It was often portrayed that Jack is almost never proud of his jobs and how well he executes them.

Tom: “‘Oh, it’s not just football. That’s bad enough, thinking he’s a hero, that there’s nothing else in the world - but its everything that goes with it - he’s wild and selfish and idle and -’” (322) Tom was pushed to the extremes by Willie and felt the need to revolt and act recklessly. He impregnates a girl, is self-absorbed and conceited, and drives carelessly to cause an accident.

Gilbert Mastern: “After the war when the white veranda was a pile of ashes and the fortune was gone, it was not surprising that Gilbert, who had made one fortune with his bare hands, out of the very air, could now, with all his experience and cunning and hardness (the hardness harder now for the four years of riding and short rations and disappointment), snatch another one, much greater than the first.” (230) Gilbert Mastern was a cunning and deceitful as Willie and profits mainly from slavery. To achieve somewhat righteous ends, he uses corrupt means (his story is almost parallel to Willie’s).

Willie: “There is nothing women love so much as the drunkard, the hellion, the roarer, the reprobate. They love him because he is a challenge and a profession. They love him, too, because they - women, I mean - are like bees in Samson’s parable in the Bible: they like to build their honeycomb in the carcass of a dead lion.” (509) And, “He seemed to take a relish in getting her worked up that way and lying back and watching it.” (47) Willie comes into power mostly through means of blackmail. He is crazy for power and will not stop unless he achieves his goals. Though he does prove himself as a good Governor, evident by the mass amount of people that love him, his continuous actions of betrayal and blackmail repeatedly prove his character as mistrusting and immoral.

Cass Mastern: Cass Mastern was a ruthless man who would destroy anything and everything that laid in his path to victory. This is proven repeatedly, one example being that he had an affair with his best friend’s wife, causing Duncan to commit suicide.

Duffy: “I had also found that Tiny Duffy, who was now Governor of the State, had killed Willie Talos as surely as though his own hand had held the revolver.” (572) It is evident in the book that no one truly trusts Tiny Duffy. Willie keeps Duffy close to him in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, but Duffy’s ultimate betrayal eventually lead to Willie’s death.

Grace Strasen Character Blog Post

All the King's Men Character Responses: Good or Bad?

Many of the characters develop immensely over the course of the novel “All the King’s Men”. Some started out morally “Good” while others progressed to that point. Some “Bad” characters actions were driven by proper intent, like Adam, while some never knew otherwise, like Tom. Below is a list from “Good” to "Bad", created by looking at the characters actions leading up to the end of the novel:

Cass Mastern - Cass was a slave owner who had an affair with his best friends wife. Cass seeks redemption for his faults, especially when the affair leads to the punishment of a slave who is forced to separate from her family. This acceptance of faults and taking responsibility shows Cass being morally “good”. Cass after his friends death: “He returned to Mississippi. For two years he operated his plantation, read the Bible, prayed, and, strangely enough, prospered greatly, read the bible, prayed … In the end he repaid Gilbert his debt, and set free his slaves” (Pg. 257).

Hugh Miller - The Attorney General in Administration, Hugh had worked along side Willie for a number of years before Jacks arrival. Admits scandal, he left Willie before Hugh could be dragged into the blackmail and damage. Describes as “pure of heart” Hugh had no intent of being involved in Willie’s political wrongdoings. Leaving the book earlier on saved Hugh from being labeled “bad” due to possible consequences or actions.

Jack Burden - Jack is the protagonist of the story and is the embodiment of the grey line between good and bad.  He doesn’t have his own angle, doesn’t have any personal gain from the business he does with Willie. He is largely dependent on his boss. Later, after a wake up call due to an affair and a trip to the West, he begins to accepts the idea of responsibility: a big character arch and a recurring theme in the novel.

Adam Stanton - Adam Stanton throughout the novel seems to follow a moral compass, shying away from the idea of business with Willie and dedicating himself more towards loyalty to Jack. A dedicated doctor and a devoted brother, he is also the man who kills Willie. Adam acts impulsively and irrationally at the end of the novel: choosing to kill Willie simply because of Duffy’s words, even though it was fairly likely he would face the same fate.

Scholarly Attorney - His real name Ellis Burden, Scholarly Attorney is the man that Jack believes is his father for much of the book. After discovering that his wife, Jacks mother, is having an affair with the judge, the Scholarly Attorney leaves her and moves to the state capital where he attempts to run a Christian ministry for the poor and the unfortunate. Although his earlier actions of leaving his family could be seen as “bad” or “morally wrong”, he Ellis Burden does attempt to do some good for the world by aiding those who are less fortunate.

Judge Irwin - The Judge for all intensive purposes was painted as a good man throughout the novel. Although its proven that he is guilty of bribery, in comparison to other characters, the Judge is a sensible man. He commits suicide after the bribery is discovered, leading to the discovery by Jack that Judge had been his real father the whole time.

Gilbert Mastern - Gilbert was Cass Mastern’s wealthy brother. Gilbert stabilized and educated Cass and started him in the Plantation business: thus being the one to introduce him to the slave business. Gilbert is not as significant of a character than Cass, but Jack when researching him finds him more relatable. This is due to Gilbert’s lack of understanding of good versus bad: he views his brothers attempts to free slaves and redeem himself and unsavory. This reflects his character as tilted more towards the “bad” moral values.

Tom Talos - Good versus bad includes the conflict of nature versus nurture, especially in Tom Talos’s case. Tom was raised without consequence by Willie, his wealth and privilege expanding his opportunities of reckless acts that led to horrifying consequences like the car accident and his eventual paralysis.  Jack talking to Willie: “Tom Talos had something to do with it,’ I said. He leaned over the bottle, did it some direct damage, stared at me again, and said indistinctly: ‘He’s just a boy”.  Toms selfish actions however can not all be blamed on the way he was raised: the decisions he made and the actions he took were also just in his nature.

Tiny Duffy - Made Lieutenant Governor by Willie to keep him within arms reach and on his side. Tiny Duffy is a confusing character: often painted in a sensitive and victimized light in the way Willie treated him. Ironically, Duffy is the one who incites Adam Stanton to kill Willie. This leads to a personal gain for Tiny: he became the Governor not long after. Tiny sneaks up on the readers and easily become one of the most vindictive and mysterious characters in the novel.

Willie - Willie degraded as the novel progressed. He started out as a hopeful figure: a progressive politician and a dedicated individual. An American figure living the American dream of hitting it big and escaping poverty. He fights racism, corruption, poverty, and inequality throughout the novel, making the public adore him like a religious figure. But these actions are all done behind closed doors: little do the public know of the blackmail, the extortion, and the corruption. He naturally sees the worst of the world and thinks that he is the only correction to the misdoings of others. His machiavellian nature makes all the actions in the book follow the ideal of the means justifying the end. Little did Willie know that the end would lead to his death and the fall of the following he had twistedly created.

Shannon Hennessey Post #3 ayyy

Men- Good to Bad:

Sugar Boy: He was simply a very loyal character and just did what he was told without questioning it. Going again Willie or one of his orders would be against his morals, he did the simple things to make Willie and Jack's life easier. "Sugar-boy got some gas and brought the Boss and me a couple of cokes." (58).

Hugh Miller: Not a very prominent character in the book, but didn't necessarily do anything wrong, besides quitting his job once Governor Stanton left. This wasn't wrong because he only left because it would feel against his morals if he stayed.

Scholarly Attorney: Could be thought of being a bad character by leaving his wife and supposed son but he only felt because he had been betrayed by his wife, who cheated on him with his best friend. He then goes on with his life to take care of other people like George.

Gilbert Mastern: Didn't do anything wrong, he just worked hard to get where he was and to get the land and slaves he owned. He probably should not of pressured his brother as much.

Governor Stanton: The only bad thing he did was protect The Judge from a case that should have called him guilty. Governor Stanton did this only because he thought it was best for the people to have The Judge keep working, and so he covered for him.

Cass Mastern: Did deceive his best friend by sleeping with his wife, and causing him to commit suicide, but he tried for his whole life to make up for it by finding the husbands slave who was sold unnecessarily. He had one bad choice that affected people greatly, but it should not determine him to be a bad person.

Judge Irwin: Made some bad choices in his lifetime but wouldn't necessarily be called a bad person. He slept with his best friends wife, only because he loved her. He then stepped in as the fatherly figure for Jack. He signed off on an illegitimate case which wasn't the best thing to but he thought he was doing it for the right reasons.

Adam Stanton: Was always trying to do what might have been right for the state, and in many cases this was not believing or trusting Willie. When he took the job as the surgeon he made sure it was for the right reasons, and not just a ploy to get him to trust Willie. Turned a bad corner right before his death, when he shot and killed Willie. But again, he was just trying to help the people he loved, even if he did it in the wrong way ended up making the situation worse.

Tom Talos: Was Willie's son and grew up to be a very spoiled and rebellious kid. Din't care much about anything, he was constantly drunk, drove recklessly, messed with his fathers campaign and eventually ended up dying in a tragic football accident, which was the only thing really going for him.

Jack Burden: Narrator of novel, had a very hard time making decisions and following through with things. He worked for Willie and was fairly loyal but still was able to deceive or lie to him. Ended up questioning The judge to the point of suicide. He complained a lot but didn't end up doing anything about his problems. A very frustrating character.

Willie Talos: Became Governor of state and deceived many people into getting and keeping that job. Was not afraid to lie, bribe, cheat, or blackmail people to get what he wanted. He lied to many people and didn't give back to what he promised many. He cheated on his wife many times and was not a supporting father. His faults ended up killing him.

Tiny Duffy: Would do anything he could to receive money and power from the people. He tricked Willie into running for governor. Acted loyal to Willie but actually went behind his back many times to try to get himself to a more powerful position. This caused him to call Jack telling him something he knew would make him kill Willie.

Women- Good to Bad:

Lucy: Wife of Willie and stayed with him throughout the book. He cheated on her many times and was not a good husband. She still just kept helping him with the election because all she wanted was a family. Her son died, then shortly after he husband did too. She is simply one of the good people that bad things happen to. She did get rewarded by receiving he grandson to raise.

Phebe: Slave of Annabelle Trice. She was simply in the wrong place and the wrong time when she was an observer to the affair with Annabelle and Cass. She then was sold instead of set free, and was treated awfully.

Jack's Mother: Had many husbands, and cheated on the one that Jack thought was his father. Which was wrong but she did cheat on him with her one true love The Judge which she realizes when he dies.

Anne Stanton: Got involved with the wrong men (Willie), and the ugly politics. She was not a bad person just made bad decisions, for example sleeping with the married Willie Talos.

Sadie Burke: Did many awful things to people to get what she wanted. Was in love with Willie and had an affair with him but ended up helping the murder of him.

Annabelle Trice: Not only cheated on her husband with his best friend to the point of his suicide but then sold her loyal slave because she knew about it.

Brooks Weller Blog Post #3

Male hierarchy from good to bad:

 

1. Hugh Miller: Miller served as Attorney General for Willie, providing Willie with his intelligence and high status, until resigning after seeing Willie become corrupt. He is a good character for his moral values and characteristics which earn him the label, “clean hands, pure heart, Attorney General”(193) by Jack.   
2. Sugar Boy: Sugar Boy proves throughout the novel to be primarily a loyal companion to his boss Willie, and never causes harm until his reaction to the spontaneous shooting of his boss.
3. Jack: While Jack at times struggled to understand the actions of his life, and fell under his Great Sleeps or Great Twitch theories, or could appear cynical at various moments, he proved throughout the book to be an honest man and a loyal business partner. He did not let his personal relationships or higher status intrude on his work and lead him to corruption, and - quite the opposite - remained “a student of history”(270), only stating the facts, and therefore making him one of the most trustworthy characters.  
4. Cass Mastern: Despite Cass’s affair with his friend’s wife, ultimately leading to his (friend’s) suicide, Cass spent the rest of his life trying to make amends and redeem himself. While almost every character shows signs of corruption at one point or another, Cass is one of the very few that tries to take responsibility for his actions.
5. Gilbert Mastern: Gilbert seems to be a neutral enough character to make him one of the better male characters; however, his attempts to persuade his brother Cass to not look for or free Phebe from slavery make him a character of lesser moral value. The fact that he also had slaves does not help him out either.
6. Scholarly Attorney: The Scholarly Attorney appears to be a very neutral character, with positive upsides when Jack recalls this character feeding him chocolate. However, his abandonment when Jack was young earns him a spot in the middle of the scale, even with his reasons for leaving.
7. Judge Irwin: The Judge looks at first to be the best character, acting as father-figure for Jack (ironically) and seems to have done no harm during his existence. But like Willie said, “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption...”(72), which eventually uncovers the truth behind the Judge’s path to power, leaving him as a character with both noticeable upsides and downsides.
8. Governor Stanton: While Governor Stanton is a fairly neutral character, his personal decision to protect his friend Judge Irwin ultimately led to Littlepaugh's suicide, and the lonesome life of his sister.
9. Tom Talos: Tom perfectly fits the description of a privileged and cocky child born to a powerful father, leading him to make poor decisions which negatively affect those around him. He skips his sports practices, drives while drunk and crashes, and ultimately leaves his mother to care for a child of a woman that he impregnated.     
10. Willie Talos: Willie originally started out as an honest and hardworking young man, but as he got sucked further into politics, he became more corrupt and began to bribe and blackmail his opponents. He also acted as a poor influence on his son Tom, and caused him to become the cocky boy he grew up to be.
11. Tiny Duffy: To summarize Duffy’s actions, he caused the death of Adam Stanton and Willie Talos, and then took the Governor position.

Female hierarchy from good to bad:

1. Lucy: Despite the horrendous environment and treatment Lucy had to go through, being cheated on and losing her son, she remained the most composed and morally righteous character.
2. Phebe: Probably the most neutral character of the book, Phebe was sold away from her husband simply because she knew of Annabelle’s affair and returned the wedding ring to Annabelle, “there lay the ring on the palm of her hand”(248).
3. Anne: Anne is a good character for her efforts to tend to her dying father and contributions to various charities. Unfortunately, she got herself tangled up in politics and influenced Willie and Adam’s death, because of her affair with Willie.   
4. Sadie: Sadie is not a completely bad person; however, she only acts in ways to support herself and caused the death of Willie and Adam by alerting Tiny Duffy of Willie’s affair.
5. Jack’s Mom: While fairly a neutral character, she lied to Jack about his real father until his death and did not develop the best mother-son relationship with him.
6. Lois: Lois never does anything outright wrong or hurts anyone, but just comes off as an emotionally detached character, and makes it clear that, “Jack and I are perfectly adjusted sexually” (423). 
7. Annabelle Trice: While it seems that her greatest wrongdoing was loving another man, her affair with Cass Mastern led to her husband’s suicide and then she sold her slave Phebe away from her husband. She did this because she couldn’t stand the fact that Phebe knew about her affair, and the cause of her husband’s death.  

Graham Vert's Third and Final Blog Post

CHARACTER HIERARCHY

The Men

1) Cass Mastern. Cass is a bit of a disreputable fellow, but he isn't what I would call a terrible person, at least not intentionally. He strives for redemption and truly wants to be absolved of the sin he committed. That sin being having an affair with his friend's wife, which caused his friend to kill himself. Man, you know that when a guy like this is ranked as the most moral character in a book, the rest of them must really be terrible.

2) Sugar Boy. Though he comes across as a mostly underdeveloped side character, Sugar Boy often seems as though he has ulterior motives, or more plainly, some shady background deals going on in the sidelines. His sudden success after Willie comes into power implies that he had to do some questionably moral things in order to live as comfortably as he does.

3) Hugh Miller. Hugh didn't truly do anything wrong, but he did resign when Stanton left. He should have known that he would have been integral in keeping a semblance of respectability for the government of his state, and that staying on would have done much more good than harm. It was a selfish decision, and one that I cannot respect.

4) Governor Stanton. He was purportedly a man of true moral fiber, and yet he allowed his friend the judge to get off on a case he should have been guilty on. Though no one was harmed, and it probably did some good in the long run, that doesn't change the fact that Stanton is a bit of a hypocrite.

5) Judge Irwin. The judge made a lot of bad decisions, but normally for the right reasons. But as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so the judge's real crime is centered more around incompetence than true badness. His suicide also struck me as particularly cowardly.

6) Adam Stanton. He also had good intentions, but Adam eventually made a terrible mistake by killing Willie, which ended up making a martyr out of him. He is one of the more intelligent characters though, always making decisions for himself and not doing things simply because Willie wants him to.

7) Jack Burden. A whiny, narcissistic, snobby ass, Jack's character arc mostly consists of complaining about his problems but never actually doing anything to solve them. He knows early on that Willie's operation isn't doing the right thing, but chooses to turn a blind eye whenever it's convenient. He is rude and often somewhat cruel to Anne, and seems to hold other people in very low regard, generally. He's a bit of a nihilist.

8) Adam Stanton. Not really that bad of a guy generally... oh, right, he owned slaves. Nothing else to say here.

9) Tom Talos. The personification of the spoiled rich kid archetype. Tom is essentially an arrogant, carefree idiot whose reckless lifestyle and bad attitude routinely get him into trouble. His remorseful act did not convince me at all. He's the kind of person who makes poor life decisions, hurts others, and then expects people to believe he's changed when he apologizes. 

10) Tiny Duffy. Basically an embodiment of everything wrong with politics. His only motivation throughout the book is money and power, and he stabs numerous people in the back in order to gain what he perceives to be an advantage over them. He's the kind of person you wouldn't respect as an enemy, and would respect even less as a friend.

11) Willie Talos. Not much to say here either. A corrupt, two-faced, lying weasel whose back-alley deals wound up getting him killed. He is also a drunk, and is very unfaithful to his wife. A wise man once said that if you think any politician has your back, you're deluding yourself. Willie is proof positive of that.

The Women

1) Phoebe. There's basically nothing that she could have done to look truly bad in my eyes, and at that, she didn't do anything wrong. She is merely a victim of a horrific circumstance, one that has so controlled her life, nearly every decision and action she takes is a result of it. A deeply saddening character.

2) Lucy. Lucy is not an intelligent character in my opinion, but she has strong morals, it would seem. I don't appreciate that she stuck with her absolute dick of a husband, but back then I suppose that was just how things were done. I just wish she could have shown a little more backbone. A good person, if not a good role model.

3) Jack's mother. Another poor role model, if not a bad person. I think her unrestrained lifestyle is mostly to blame for Jack's development into a borderline sociopath, but sometimes, circumstances can't be helped. She still should have been there for her son, though.

4) Anne. Though I liked Anne's character, and thought she and Jack made a good pair, I can't forgive her for philandering around with Willie. She might not have been a bad person at the core, but the decisions she made were often stupid and not motivated by logic. Hmm. Perhaps that's why she and Jack got along.

5) Sadie. An amoral, conniving character who got into Willie's head and then helped plan his murder. Women who fool around with married men are, at the end of the day, just as amoral as the men they're fooling around with. Sadie is no exception.

6) Annabelle Trice. Okay, here she is-- the worst character in the book. First, she cheats on her husband with her husband's best friend. Then when her slave finds out about it, she sells her away in order to keep things secret. Forget Willie's shady deals-- he's got nothing on this kind of depravity. Wow. What a friggin' terrible person.