Which political figure became the prototype of the main character of the book “All the King's Men?” (video in Armenian)

Hugh Long is the 40th governor of Louisiana, 1928-32, the most controversial member of the Democratic Party, whose populism sometimes escalated into fascism. This is what he was saying to his voters:  “4% of Americans share 85% of the wealth of the whole country. And 70% of Americans do not have money to pay their loans. One eats the whole barbecue, and 9 look at him while being extremely hungry.”

During the political upheaval of Long, a young writer named Robert Penn Warren was lecturing at Louisiana State University. Everyone was interested in this controversial politician. Moreover, he soon became a member of the US Senate from the governor, criticized President Roosevelt and made radical speeches. In these speeches he regularly spoke of the rich and the poor. “In America, with a population of 125 million, there should be neither too rich nor too poor, no one should work too much, no one should be unemployed, no castles should be empty, no one should be homeless, the society should be neither power-hungry, nor divisive, nor warlike. There must be a blessed land where it is possible to consume, to eat, to wear, where everything is justly distributed to all, not to the elect.”

Long's political career was interrupted in 1935 when a relative of his political rival killed him. Eleven years after Long's assassination, “All the King’s Men” novel was published. It received the Pulitzer Prize. Time magazine includes the literary work in a list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century. It is one of the best novels written about politics. Robert Penn Warren was convinced that other people were behind the success of Hitler or Stalin. “Hitler and Stalin were not directly influential. They were made like that by the people around them. That's how my character is. His circle formed him, his dominion.”

The novel tells the story of lawyer Willie Stark, who becomes governor. The events are presented by Stark's supporter, his teammate, journalist Jack Barden. Critics often argue. After all, who is the novel about, the king, Willie Stark, or his bodyguard, Jack Barden? Warren later confessed that he did not even think that Jack would become such a central figure. “We just needed a voice to weave the story. And I needed Jack to convey the context. But when you start writing, you realize that the narrator must be involved in the events, otherwise why is he presenting the story? That is why he soon became the one to explain Willie's decisions. So, Jack's personal story and the main storyline became equal.”

This novel is about the price of human transformation after coming to power, achieving good goals. “All the King’s Men” is one of the most discussed novels in American universities. It is studied by philologists, literary critics and political scientists. According to political science lecturer Raymond Hopkins, 4 conclusions can be drawn from this book. “First, history enriches literature. It should be noted that the real prototype of the main character is Hugh Long. Second, man cannot be good or bad. It is between the two. Third, politics is always dirty. Fourth, there is no evil without good. Probably.”

According to Yale University lecturer David Blythe, Warren's characters are not positive, but they are not negative either. They are people of different qualities, operating in different circumstances of different years. After all, it is impossible to judge them, but it is possible to understand them. “Warren was fascinated by tragedy, but not as a literary genre, but as an inevitable concept of human nature. For him, good and evil were divided primitively, and tragedy was not just a thematic choice, but an ore from which one could create literary art.”

One thing is obvious: "All the King's men" is for a sensible, mature reader. At a school in Dallas, it was banned for “presenting life in an oppressive light and exposing immoral situations.” Warren fans responded: “who promised that life would be easy, and the truth would be easy to digest?”