On Willie Stark As Political Leader

ON WILLIE STARK AS POLITICAL LEADER

Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men1 tells the story of two men, Jack Burden, the book’s narrator, and Willie Stark, Jack’s friend and boss. Because my focus is on the politics of the novel, Jack Burden will appear only occasionally in this paper. This approach does not do justice to the richness of the novel, for as Jack himself says, his story and Willie’s story are really one story. With this limitation in mind, I now turn to a review of Willie Stark’s career.

Willie Stark, the political protagonist of All the King’s Men, was a reluctant but earnest young politician who had returned quickly to private life after his initial effort to achieve reform at the local level failed. Through a matter of chance, he returned to the public eye, became convinced to run for governor of the state, and was used by a political machine in an effort to undermine its opposition and ensure its continuation in office. During the course of this campaign “Cousin Willie,” as Jack Burden referred to him, received his political education when he learned that he was being used. He turned the tables by becoming a spokesman for the “hicks” whose votes were necessary for election but whose interests the machine ignored. In the course of this revitalized campaign “Cousin Willie” was transformed into “the Boss.” Subsequently Willie Stark was elected Governor of the state, and, after a turbulent administration and successful effort to fend off impeachment, was assassinated.

The stages of Willie Stark’s career and the details of his term as governor of the state provide the material from which we may examine the foundations and nature of his political agenda, and the grounds for his ultimate failure. The next two sections will examine Stark’s rhetoric and his actions, respectively. The paper will conclude with an argument against searching for “the political teaching” of All the King’s Men (an argument that could be expanded to include other works of political fiction). Instead of seeking the teaching of the novel, I will suggest that it is more appropriate to consider the meaning of the novel, which is something considerably different.

I: Willie Stark: Rhetoric

Willie’s youth might appear to have been undistinguishable from that of many others who grew up in rural America in the early twentieth century: he was raised on a farm, attended a year of college, was in basic training in Oklahoma when World War I ended, married, and fathered a child (67). The young Willie Stark exhibited many of the characteristics of talented but poor children who are committed to succeeding in life against great odds: single-minded focus, tremendous self-discipline, and an almost maniacal drive. He had been elected Treasurer in Mason County because Dolph Pillsbury, the Chairman of the County Commission, who was “a sort of second hand relative” of Willie’s father, had had a falling out with his original candidate for Treasurer and needed someone to replace him (59).

Having lucked into the position of County Treasurer, Willie Stark ran head long into the reality of local politics. Mason County was going to build a school-house, and the County Commission had selected as contractor for the project J. H. Moore, a builder who had not submitted the low bid and who had a reputation for using inferior materials in his work (60). Treasurer Stark was opposed to this decision, and he made enough of a fuss to attract the attention of The Chronicle, the leading newspaper in the state capital. While he received some statewide publicity, he also attracted the ire of the County Commission. Willie’s wife, Lucy, was fired from her teaching job, and Pillsbury, the local boss, worked to ensure that Willie would be a one-term County Treasurer (58).

Willie ran for re-election, but was soundly defeated by the county machine. In part Willie’s defeat was achieved through racial politicsвЂ"the low bid firm used black laborers, and Willie was accused publicly of being a “nigger lover” (57, 60, 53). In part it was achieved through use of strong-arm tacticsвЂ"the local paper would not print stories on his campaign and would not even print his political flyers in their commercial print shop (60-61). Willie had his flyers printed out of town, but the kid he hired to pass them out was beaten up.

Lucy and Willie reacted differently to Willie’s defeat. Lucy’s attitude was “good riddance!” She said, “Now, honey, you didn’t want to be mixed up with them anyway. Not after you found out they were dishonest and crooked.” Willie, however, brooded with redneck resentment: “They tried to run it over me. They just figured I’d do anything they told me, and they tried to run it over me like I was dirt” (61). As I will show, this redneck resentment was to be an important catalyst in Willie’s success later on. [Important: Willie вЂ?knows the heart of the people’ because his heart is just like theirsвЂ"note Upton speech, 91]

After his defeat as County Treasurer, Willie farmed and sold household goods door-to-door during the day. At night he studied law (66). While he was preparing for the bar examination, an event occurred which would change his life forever: there was a fatal accident at the schoolhouse built by J. H. Moore. During a fire drill, the fire escape collapsed, injuring a dozen and killing three children (65). This event precipitated Willie’s political resurrection, not because he sought office in the immediate aftermath, but because his reputation for honesty spread throughout the county and beyond.

Willie did exercise some political muscle by campaigning against the incumbent Congressman who had been Dolph Pillsbury's ally. Jack Burden thought Willie was effective in this campaign, but not because he was a good speaker: “Willie’s speeches weren’t any good, at least the one I heard wasn’t any good. But they didn’t have to be good. People didn’t bother to listen to them. They just came to look at Willie and clap and then go vote against the Pillsbury man” (65).

This reentry into the world of politics prompted the city-based political machine of former Governor Joe Harrison to attempt to take advantage of Willie’s popularity to split the rural vote going to current Governor Sam