Jack Burden's Perspective

Jack Burden makes a political reading of All the King's Men more difficult. The first-person narrative limits our understanding of Willie Stark's motives and colors the novel's portrayal of his domination of state politics. Jack's resistance to the gritty side of politics--made most evident in his reaction to Willie Stark and Judge Irwin's confrontation, where he says, "to hell with both of them"--precludes him from becoming a political man himself; he is instead relegated to mediocre journalism, having failed at academia.

On one level, he represents rebellion. A product of Burden's Landing, Jack comes from the political and cultural elite. His education and his outlook both arise out of that upbringing. Yet, Jack abandons that lifestyle when he attaches himself to Stark's political machine, distasteful as he finds the political process. Rather than dwell on Willie's ethically questionable methods, Jack finds himself captivated by a man who can "do" something, who can make sweeping changes. The uncomfortable tension between his privileged upbringing and his commitment to Stark's political machine allows him to navigate between the two sides of the populist argument, the wealthy, landed gentry and the poor farmers. Yet, as an apolitical man himself, his unease with the political process makes him unable to render a judgment about which side, if either, makes a more meritorious argument.

His value, then, is his ability to present both sides. He frustrates efforts to evaluate both sides, however, because he himself cannot conclude anything about them.

That he seeks to escape the politics becomes his most significant contribution to a political reading. People of Jack's character and temperament, it seems, are not equipped to enter politics, which necessitates certain sacrifices of morality and conscience. While Willie and Judge Irwin are willing to make these sacrifices for political power, Jack is not. This conclusion reorients the politics of the novel. While the poor farmers and wealthy landowners might be one opposite ends of the political spectrum in terms of policy goals, their political leaders undergo the same corrupting transformation when they enter the political arena.