In the novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, issues of integrity and responsibility are brought to the fore and developed in the political arena in which the story is set. The issue of responsibility is framed in dramatic terms in the opening paragraph. The issue is carried through in the story pursued and told by Jack Burden. The issue is demonstrated in the life of Willie Stark, which is characterized by the political machine that runs the state. Pursuit of the issue ultimately leads to the closing of the novel as Jack Burden recognizes a certain cosmic order of responsibility which involves what he calls "the awful responsibility of Time."
The opening paragraph offers a lengthy version of the ancient issue of whether actions are fated or come about through our own actions. If they are fated, then we are not responsible; if they come about through our own actions, then we must be held responsible. The opening paragraph masterfully creates a sense of impending doom, for as Sugar Boy drives the car down the road, the author details all that might happen if the wheel were turned one way or the other. The fragility of human life is apparent here, as well as the responsibility the driver has not to turn the wheel so as to tempt fate.
Jack Burden is greatly concerned with issues of responsibility, his own and that of others. He sees himself as a sell-out at various times, and he understands the nature of responsibility, that it is a function of time, and so that it can only be seen in the way the past has a reality and impinges on the present. If the present is all that matters, then actions taken now cannot be considered a responsibility, for they will have no action on the future. Jack has studied the issue and is obsessed by it. He follows Willie in part to see whether Willie will be as responsible as he first seems when he has ideals or whether he will be corrupted as have so many others. Cass Mastern is ...