Blog #8

I have become more and more immersed into the worlds of Jack and Willie while reading all the King’s men. Upon further analyzing chapter three following our Socratic seminar, I recollected a few minor points as well as a few major points that I did not have a chance to bring up in class. I thought to myself, well if I didn’t have the opportunity to speak about something in public I should blog about it! After all isn’t that what blogging is for?

The first nugget of information that I would like to reflect upon is the fact that Jack’s mother is never once named in the chapters of the book that we have read so far. I find this very odd. Jack has such a close connection with his mother (as recognized by the scene of them on the couch) one would think that he would go so far as to mention her name when speaking or thinking of her. Perhaps Warren felt that by not giving Jack’s mother a name he is keeping that element of Jack’s life separate from the corruption of politics. The lack of a name gives Jack’s mother a wistful and malleable feel.

Secondly, I find it interesting the extent of Jack’s relationship with money. Originally, Jack ignored his mother’s suggestion that he attend Harvard University rather than the state college. However Jack refuses in order to show his independence. The irony in this is that if Jack had gone to Harvard he would have had a greater opportunity at a higher paying job and therefore would not have to be so dependent on his mother. Jack never admits that he is financially dependent on her, however it is clear to the reader that he relies on her for many things in his younger age. This dependence is reflected through the rest of the novel. There is very rarely a scene where Jack is not identifying some social marker or sign of wealth in his surroundings. Whether it is analyzing the outfit that Willie wore when he first met Jack or the description of all of Willie’s lavish belongings, money is seemingly always present in Jack’s mind.

And finally, I wanted to address the fact that the contrast that Warren makes between Jack’s home life and his political life reflects the two different sides of Jack’s personality. When Jack returns home he spends time with his mother and attends a relatively calm dinner date with a woman. It is not until the topic of politics comes up that Jack has any form of chaos in his hometown life. This shows the trouble and stress that Willie brings to Jack’s life even when Willie is not around! When Jack returns to work he is immediately caught in a whirlwind of activity with Willie and his political agenda. Immediately after Jack spends a nice quiet vacation in his hometown he is thrust into a boiling vat of deception and lies concocted by Willie in hopes of winning the hearts of the American people.