Have you ever wanted to win bad enough, that you are willing to sacrifice your friends, family, morals, and values to secure the win? In All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren, the story takes you through the journey of a pure spirit, tainted by the desire to win at all cost. Willie Starks began his political career truly committed to helping the community, but quickly finds himself entangled in the corruption he original despised. Unfortunately for Willie his fascination for winning distorted his vision, which ultimately cost him his life.
Willie started out as the county treasurer, where he quickly became well-known among the community of Mason City for taking a stance against the school board. Willie knew that the school board only selected the contractors to build the school based on internal ties opposed to a legitimate contractor. “Willie unsuccessfully tried to warn Mason County voters about their corrupt county commissioners' scheme
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Judge Erwin’s death forces Willie to comprehend the reality of his actions. A combination of Willies’ decisions and actions result in his demise. “Further, Jack sees Tiny and Sadie's personal resentments against Willie snowball into a scheme that results in Willie's death” (Thomason).
To summarize, All The Kings Men is a story that reflects the inner turmoil of politics and how easy it is to be persuaded by power and money. In the beginning, Willie was a humble man with great intentions to help his fellow man. After being set up to fail, Willie then realized he had to play the game of politics to become Governor. Willie continued to strive to do the right thing but he made bad decisions and took the wrong actions to accomplish the task. Winning at all cost has true consequences and as it relates to Willie Starks, it cost him the ultimate price, his