In this blog post, I plan on discussing my findings for the All the King’s Men Presentation assignment. Our group was assigned the topic of comparing and contrasting Willie Stark and Adam Stanton. The differences between these two men are obvious; the similarities, therefore, were much more difficult to find. As suggested by the question, these two men differ in their attitudes towards life, their childhood backgrounds, and their ideologies in general. Beginning with their backgrounds, Adam was brought up in a rich, well-educated family of high social status. He idealized his father as a perfect and just governor, who performed no acts of corruption or wrongdoing. Willie Stark, on the other hand, was raised on a poor farm. He worked hard to attain any education that he could in an effort to raise his social standing from minimal to significant.
The beginnings of these two characters would greatly affect their behavior and create further contrasts between the two as time went on. For example, Willie was extremely ambitious and sought power-in the form of a seat in the senate. Adam, on the other hand, was used to having everything given to him and did not desire to attain power or fame. Another characteristic that differs between the two characters is their morality. Willie believes that every man is consumed by corruption, and acts of good must come out of the bad. A quote that supports this, found on page 508, is “You don’t ever have to frame anybody, because the truth is always sufficient.” Adam, on the other hand, believes in the concept of pure good versus pure evil. He is confused by Willie Stark’s philosophy, and responds by questioning, “If, as you say, there is only the bad to start with, and the good must come out of the bad, then how do you ever know what the good is? How do you even recognize it from the bad?” (Warren 386). Adam refuses to accept the concept that the good and the bad can mix, and this defiance is evident to other characters. Jack, talking about Adam, says “He just has the high cantankerous moral shrinks. He does not like to play with the rough boys. He is afraid they might dirty his Lord Fauntleroy suit” (Warren 486).
Although these two characters may seem to be complete opposites, there are some comparisons that can be drawn. Both characters undergo a major change towards the end of the novel. Adam Stanton, upon being informed of his father’s participation in the Judge Irwin scandal, realizes that pure good does not exist in the way that he had previously believed. This monumental change is simply too much for him to handle, and causes him to commit an act of irrational rage. Willie Stark also underwent a major change at the end of the novel. Upon seeing his son hospitalized, he realized that there is some bad that good simply cannot come out of. As a result, he claims to end his affairs and was in the process of returning to Lucy when Adam intervened. Another similarity between the two was that they both began as good, honest people. While on the farm and during his first political campaign, Willie was blissfully ignorant of the fact that corruption is present in everyday life. Adam, similarly, chose to frown upon politics as being immoral.
Although the majority of the relations between these two characters are contrasts, some comparisons can be drawn. The majority of these comparisons exist at the beginning and ends of the novel, since the middle is when each reaches their most stubborn and individual beliefs.
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