Noyce ATKM Part 3

The Good the Bad and the Kings 
Sarah Noyce

Male
Hugh Miller: A fairly good person, when he sees what the Talos administration is doing, he decides he does not wish to be a part of it, and rather than just feeling this, he acts upon it. His resignation acts as a contrast to those who continue in the corrupt government though do not agree with it.  

Sugar Boy: If loyalty was all that makes someone a good person, Sugar Boy would be at the top of this list, but because it is not, Sugar Boy knew he was involved in a corrupt system and didn't care. He also shot Adam, and while it was after Adam had shot Willie, death should never be seen as all good. His loyalty is very apparent in the last section of the story when Jack says to him, "'You really would have done it.'" and Sugar Boy responds, "'It w-w-was the B-b-boss'"(585). 

Judge Irwin: The Judge was actually a good person, and it takes Jack a long time to find dirt on him. Even when he does, it seems Judge Irwin had been trying to make up for it his entire life. He is a good father to Jack even if he never tells him the truth about his real father. I think he tried to do the best in the complicated situation. He has a very similar story to Cass Mastern, they both try to make up for the one big mistake they made that lead to a suicide.

Cass Mastern: He goes to find the slave Phebe which makes him good, but he also has an affair with a married woman which causes the suicide of his friend and husband of the woman he was having an affair with. He is a good person, but this mistake haunts him for the rest of his life.

Willie Talos My problem with Willie is that while the way he accomplishes the things he does is not good, many of the results are. He is truly Machiavellian and I can understand how the ends justify the means.  Also, as in any good story, his character develops and the man we met at the beginning of the story is vastly different from the one who died. What he does for the people, he does by being corrupt himself, but I think it is not that he is an evil person, but that the circumstances with which he has to do good are evil. I think he is not actually so bad, although he was corrupt as a politician, he was corrupt for good reasons. In this case, I think that it is the whole picture that matters, which is why rather than towards the end of this list, his wrongs and rights have balanced out to make him more neutral. 

Jack Burden Jack, seems to be a side character in his own narrative. He has little ambition and therefore latches on to Willie, one who has almost too much ambition. The stark contrast between the two offers an interesting juxtaposition, rich and poor, ideas and action, dead and alive.  Jack is too removed, thinking himself better than everyone else to be good, "I did not think I would ever have to envy anybody again, for I was sure that now I had the secret knowledge," (437). I have a real problem with the way he treats women, especially Lois, but also Anne and his mother, they are seen as not entirely human which really bothers me. 

Adam Stanton: Adam wanted to do good, that was all he wanted, but the politics of it kept getting in the way. He stayed strong while many bribes were offered, but in the end he finally snaps. I do not this his killing of Willie was just an act of evil, I feel that Adam would have thought of it as justice, getting rid of the one who had caused him so many problems in his quest to help others. 

Tom Talos I do not believe Tom meant to be so evil, yet that does not change the fact he made dozens of terribly stupid mistakes with large consequences. Growing up with Willie as a father, a man who could save his son from any possible conflict, never gave him a chance to take responsibility for his actions. This eventually leads to his death from pneumonia after he is paralyzed. Though Tom was spoiled and had everything handed to him, his choices are what define him, and his choices were quite poor. 

Tiny Duffy: Representative of the true evil of corrupt politics, Tiny is not a good person. He caused the death of Willie and was quite bad throughout the entire story. Unlike Willie, when they first meet he is the one who is drinking and urging him to run for governor as a set up. Tiny wants power and will not stop at anything to get it. 

Female
Lucy Talos A very strong woman, she keeps Willie in line for a long time. Even when Willie is not being faithful, she does not end the relationship and tries stick it out. She ends up the only one caring for Tom's child and was the only one who even thought about the child in the first place rather than the scandal. Lucy is the one who encouraged the big dreams and supported Willie even if that meant she was pushed aside. 

Phebe: Annabelle's slave Phebe does not do anything to deserve the punishment she receives. While little is known about her, it is clear she did not immediately run off to tell everyone of Annabelle's secret, yet is punished for another's weakness. Her life was cruel to her, yet she did not do anything evil as far as we know which is indicative of her goodness. 

Lois: Unfortunately we do not know much about Lois because of the fact Jack did not see her as a person, which speaks more to Jack's character than it does to hers. Lois does not seem to be a bad person from the little we know about her and she put up with Jack for a long time and it is Jack's inability to see her as a human that is the downfall in their relationship.

Anne: Devoting her time to orphans and those in need, Anne is a very good person, but she is not very strong and has her world seriously altered when she finds out the truth about the Judge and her father. She has an affair with Willie which is not fair to Lucy, though there were many before Anne. I don't believe Anne was all good, but she was not quite bad either.

Jack's mom: Though she had an affair and never told her son who her real father was, Jack's mom was not all bad. She did claim to love Judge Irwin in the end and was always there for Jack. Her and Jack had an interesting relationship which probably came about from the many secrets between them since he was born.

Sadie: A more complex character than most of the other women in the story, Sadie is written to seem more like a man, with her political savvy and understanding of the corruption in their government even before Jack, such as when Willie was being set up in his first run for Governor. Her intelligence does not make her good however and she was directly involved in Willie's death. 


Annabelle Trice: This woman was not faithful or good. Her husband's death was caused in part by her and her insecurities lead to the ruin of another life; selling her slave Phebe down the river just because she found a ring, indicating she knew about something that Annabelle found shameful. She was very weak in this way, she was not able to move on, but had to rid herself of any reminders, even if those reminders were real people. Cass asks Annabelle why she didn't free Phebe, "She'd stay right here, she wouldn't go away, she would stay right here and look at me"(250).