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.