All the King’s Men: History’s Importance

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All the King’s Men: History’s Importance

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Throughout All the King’s Men, history plays an important role in

the motivations and lives of all the characters. History’s

importance is most noticeable, not surprisingly, in the story main

characters – Willie Stark and Jack Burden – whose lives focus on and,

in some cases, depend upon history and how they relate themselves to

it. While Willie Stark views history as a tool with which to

manipulate people for his own ends, an attitude resulting in his

own destruction, Jack Burden’s view of history changes over time

and eventually allows him to accept his relationship to the past

and, therefore, present. Since each man has such a differing view

it is no wonder that history becomes important to each in different

ways. Willie Stark must support his entire empire in a world of

enemies and corruption, to do this he relies on the past to

provide him with the foundation.

“Dirt’s a funny thing,” the Boss said. “Come to think of it, there

ain’t a thing but dirt on this God’s green globe except what’s

under water, and that’s dirt too. It’s dirt makes the grass grow.

A diamond ain’t a thing in the world but a piece of dirt that got

awful hot. God-a-Mighty picked up a handful of dirt and blew on it

and made you and me and George Washington and mankind blessed in

faculty and apprehension. It all depends on what you do with the

dirt.”1 In this case, Stark is referring to the past as dirt – something

to be used in many ways. The way he chooses to use it of course is

as blackmail; “Then he would lean suddenly forward, at the man, and

say, not slow and easy now, `God damn you, do you know what I can do

to you?’ And he could too. For he had the goods.”2 Thus history is

important to Stark as the device by which he maintains power.

Both Stark and Burden use history differently according to the way

it figures into their lives. To Stark, ultimate power being paramount,

history is a thing to be used in the manipulation of others to

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