Grace Strasen All the King's Men CCQC #1

All the King's Men CCQC #1

All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren, is a sentimental and honest narrative written from the perspective of a man who greatly cherishes his memories. Jack Burden brings the reader through his elaborate life through detailed descriptions of the most impacting and intimate moments of his life and the life of the politician Willie Talos. By working for Willie Jack often found himself doing questionable things. When describing a time before the book, a time he spent with his dear friend Adam from Burden’s landing, Jack projects a sentimental and bittersweet tone: “It was like when we used to go fishing, when we were kids, back at Burden’s landing. We used to sit in the boat, under the hot sun, hour by hour, and never a word. Or lie on the beach. Or go camping together and after supper lie by a little smudge fire for the mosquitoes” (Pg. 143). Alex from Burden’s landing is revealed dying later: “Adam Stanton is dead now, too, who used to go fishing with me and lay on the sand in the hot sunshine” (Pg. 72). With this tone, Jack reflects on his past. This tone reappears in the language throughout the novel. Many of these moments change his later actions. This tone is foreshadowing on Jack’s later feelings. The sentimental and bittersweet tone suggests Jack feeling regretful or burdened by the events written.