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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
AP Literature and Composition
Lincoln High class of 2015
It's really important when reading this book that you pay attention to the details and recurrences of the following:
Darkness, shadows, and light. What does it mean to be portrayed as in the shadows? What does it mean to be blinded by the light? Know that when you're too surrounded by light, you don't see the things in the dark.
father, son, mother, son; any family relationships Family's important right? Because of loyalty. Relationships are important. Because of trust right? Trust? Loyalty? Good and right and wrong and evil? What does it all mean? And especially when it comes to the people you may feel responsible for... and the people that you don't give any thought to at all.
Not one bit.
COLORS it's always been generally known that colors are representations of something, anything! Yellow representing happiness, brightness, or decay and death as we think of decaying flowers or just the wilting of plants. Red for anger or passion or lust. Blue for sadness. Green for honor, life, plants, rebirth. Grey and black for indifference or depression. Darker scale colors versus colors on the lighter spectrum. All of it has a purpose, or at least that's what we claim because we're humans and we naturally fill in gaps to information to find that underlying pattern, whether it exists or not, and so in this book, pay attention to the colors. Who's wearing what color? Are their eyes blue, and why would those particular people, dominantly females, all have blue eyes? What's the purpose that the carpets green and what is symbolically important between the differences of bright, vibrant green, and light, wilted green?
EXISTENTIALISM AND RELIGION existentialism and religion are big parts of ATKM because it plays into the question of yes, superficially, on the top layer of the cake, a theme in this book is corruption. But what makes something corrupt and who is the judge to make the degrees of corruptness. When we think of corruption, we think of political leaders. But do they all agree that they are corrupt? What if they're corrupt to do good things? Does that make things okay? And then that leads to the question of good and bad and what does it really mean? We can't have one with out the other though at the same time, because they're dependent on the other's existence, does that really make them real? Or are they just terms that we've labeled all by ourselves. Human things for the human mind.
Human things like say... time. What really are days and weeks? We made those up, but to someone else who lived their lives without knowing what an hour, minute, or a year was, they'll obviously calculate time differently. So that's a human thing for the human mind.
Also by the way, notice how with this human thing that we've created, we also constrain and restrict ourselves. "I didn't do it cause I didn't have enough time.", "I can't, look at the time, I'm going to go or else I'll miss the bus.", "I didn't do it because the timing wasn't right., "It's just grandpa... I'll see him next year."
Other human things that we assemble ourselves are, letter grades, "intelligence", "reality", dreams versus not-your-dreams, the systematic order of colors and words and phrases, morals, "good things", "bad things", RELIGION . All of it, we created ourselves, and when reading ATKM, we have to be open to someone telling us something we don't like- like "god isn't real" or "time isn't real", we have to be open to things that we have trouble acknowledging because it doesn't matter whether you accept it or not. What matters is that you have the capacity to allow yourself to take it, chew it over, consider it, and acknowledge that this question, thought, opinion, is there. Even if it's not yours.
Think about and fully consider when reading ATKM why Jack would say "the end of man is knowledge."
???
Well if we're living, we exist, we're here, then we can safely agree that we carry the knowledge of past people. We carry their history as we go through the present and every second that passes by, every word I type in this review, we make history for the future that we know nothing about.
So as the carriers- if there's an end to us. There is no longer any knowledge. Nothing being created, no history in the making, no jokes or secrets or "hellos" are exchanged.
When reading ATKM, you have to understand that you will not understand everything. But as a reader and as a person who lives, grown up to be prepped for the "real world" in ways that make you think for yourself, you have to do that with this book. Think for yourself about what means what and put the pieces together to understand the meaning that is there on page one. then on page two. page three. page four. all the way till the end of the book with the words "responsibility of time."
It's all there.
But what's important is figuring it out on your own. Because when you figure it out on your own, and you attained the knowledge with your bare hands, digging through the mounds of dirt and clay and dust (man is made from the dust of the earth- biblical allusion), that exact moment is when you know the reality because it's your reality, so in turn. You know your identity.
Lincoln High class of 2015
It's really important when reading this book that you pay attention to the details and recurrences of the following:
Darkness, shadows, and light. What does it mean to be portrayed as in the shadows? What does it mean to be blinded by the light? Know that when you're too surrounded by light, you don't see the things in the dark.
father, son, mother, son; any family relationships Family's important right? Because of loyalty. Relationships are important. Because of trust right? Trust? Loyalty? Good and right and wrong and evil? What does it all mean? And especially when it comes to the people you may feel responsible for... and the people that you don't give any thought to at all.
Not one bit.
COLORS it's always been generally known that colors are representations of something, anything! Yellow representing happiness, brightness, or decay and death as we think of decaying flowers or just the wilting of plants. Red for anger or passion or lust. Blue for sadness. Green for honor, life, plants, rebirth. Grey and black for indifference or depression. Darker scale colors versus colors on the lighter spectrum. All of it has a purpose, or at least that's what we claim because we're humans and we naturally fill in gaps to information to find that underlying pattern, whether it exists or not, and so in this book, pay attention to the colors. Who's wearing what color? Are their eyes blue, and why would those particular people, dominantly females, all have blue eyes? What's the purpose that the carpets green and what is symbolically important between the differences of bright, vibrant green, and light, wilted green?
EXISTENTIALISM AND RELIGION existentialism and religion are big parts of ATKM because it plays into the question of yes, superficially, on the top layer of the cake, a theme in this book is corruption. But what makes something corrupt and who is the judge to make the degrees of corruptness. When we think of corruption, we think of political leaders. But do they all agree that they are corrupt? What if they're corrupt to do good things? Does that make things okay? And then that leads to the question of good and bad and what does it really mean? We can't have one with out the other though at the same time, because they're dependent on the other's existence, does that really make them real? Or are they just terms that we've labeled all by ourselves. Human things for the human mind.
Human things like say... time. What really are days and weeks? We made those up, but to someone else who lived their lives without knowing what an hour, minute, or a year was, they'll obviously calculate time differently. So that's a human thing for the human mind.
Also by the way, notice how with this human thing that we've created, we also constrain and restrict ourselves. "I didn't do it cause I didn't have enough time.", "I can't, look at the time, I'm going to go or else I'll miss the bus.", "I didn't do it because the timing wasn't right., "It's just grandpa... I'll see him next year."
Other human things that we assemble ourselves are, letter grades, "intelligence", "reality", dreams versus not-your-dreams, the systematic order of colors and words and phrases, morals, "good things", "bad things", RELIGION . All of it, we created ourselves, and when reading ATKM, we have to be open to someone telling us something we don't like- like "god isn't real" or "time isn't real", we have to be open to things that we have trouble acknowledging because it doesn't matter whether you accept it or not. What matters is that you have the capacity to allow yourself to take it, chew it over, consider it, and acknowledge that this question, thought, opinion, is there. Even if it's not yours.
Think about and fully consider when reading ATKM why Jack would say "the end of man is knowledge."
???
Well if we're living, we exist, we're here, then we can safely agree that we carry the knowledge of past people. We carry their history as we go through the present and every second that passes by, every word I type in this review, we make history for the future that we know nothing about.
So as the carriers- if there's an end to us. There is no longer any knowledge. Nothing being created, no history in the making, no jokes or secrets or "hellos" are exchanged.
When reading ATKM, you have to understand that you will not understand everything. But as a reader and as a person who lives, grown up to be prepped for the "real world" in ways that make you think for yourself, you have to do that with this book. Think for yourself about what means what and put the pieces together to understand the meaning that is there on page one. then on page two. page three. page four. all the way till the end of the book with the words "responsibility of time."
It's all there.
But what's important is figuring it out on your own. Because when you figure it out on your own, and you attained the knowledge with your bare hands, digging through the mounds of dirt and clay and dust (man is made from the dust of the earth- biblical allusion), that exact moment is when you know the reality because it's your reality, so in turn. You know your identity.
A little dated in its approach but still a tale for our times. I felt as though I had been immersed in a 1930s movie. The complexity of the human condition, the intoxication of power and greed, the endurance of love, the influence of the past, and of course the corrupting pressures of politics - it's all there. Deservedly a classic and a literary delight.
I cannot tell a lie, Rebecca - this is definitely my most favorite book that I have read all year. Partly this is because Alex recommended it to me out of the blue when I did not know him very well and a commercial for the Sean Penn movie version came on during Project Runway. Not that book recommendations are this lofty thing, but it was really nice to have this person who I had really either only drank a lot of bourbon with/drank a lot of beer with/drank a lot of sparks with tell me something semi-serious.
This is actually backward projecting because at the time I didn't even know the book was going to be so good. Anyhow Perry-Castaneda Library had this tiny red hardcover version in the stacks, which I liked the look of but once on my shelf at home didn't remind me of its existence. In grad school you can check books out for years without any consequence, so I didn't actually start reading it for maybe 4 months. This was a situation where the timing was not right and for some reason I needed to wait till the spring of 2007 to read it. I don't think this is true of all books but of the ones you really love, it is.
And this is not just because Jack Burden is a grad school dropout, it is because this book is this amazing piece of writing which is modern and rural and depressive and vivid. I told Chance more than once while I was reading it that if I were to write a book, this is what it would be like, but that is not true because although I can ramble on apace with Robert Penn Warren about my feelings and how I know that they at times have led me to make the wrong decisions about things, I'm not old enough to guess know how things are gonna turn out for me, and I'm not old enough to be satisfied with knowing that most people go to their grave never being satisfied.
This is actually backward projecting because at the time I didn't even know the book was going to be so good. Anyhow Perry-Castaneda Library had this tiny red hardcover version in the stacks, which I liked the look of but once on my shelf at home didn't remind me of its existence. In grad school you can check books out for years without any consequence, so I didn't actually start reading it for maybe 4 months. This was a situation where the timing was not right and for some reason I needed to wait till the spring of 2007 to read it. I don't think this is true of all books but of the ones you really love, it is.
And this is not just because Jack Burden is a grad school dropout, it is because this book is this amazing piece of writing which is modern and rural and depressive and vivid. I told Chance more than once while I was reading it that if I were to write a book, this is what it would be like, but that is not true because although I can ramble on apace with Robert Penn Warren about my feelings and how I know that they at times have led me to make the wrong decisions about things, I'm not old enough to guess know how things are gonna turn out for me, and I'm not old enough to be satisfied with knowing that most people go to their grave never being satisfied.
I don't normally read fiction, opting for non-fiction instead but I was pleasantly surprised at All the King's Men. I read the first chapter a few months ago and simply lost interest. It gnawed at me a bit, my first attempt at fiction in a while and I already capitulated after on chapter. But recently I picked it up again and finished it in the course of 3 days.
The story is really interesting and raises a lot of questions. Themes, like the interconnectedness of the world, whether man was born into sin, and the question of morality makes this book great. Because I'm not used to reading fiction, I probably missed a few themes, but I really liked the ones that I did understand. It's a slightly difficult book to read for someone like me. It has a lot of jumps in time and it's not always direct language as Warren enjoys painting vivid imagery. But that's not bad, it's just that I'm not used to that kind of prose. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed this book and therefore I can only recommend this, especially for people who are interested in politics/depression era South and about the morality of man.
The story is really interesting and raises a lot of questions. Themes, like the interconnectedness of the world, whether man was born into sin, and the question of morality makes this book great. Because I'm not used to reading fiction, I probably missed a few themes, but I really liked the ones that I did understand. It's a slightly difficult book to read for someone like me. It has a lot of jumps in time and it's not always direct language as Warren enjoys painting vivid imagery. But that's not bad, it's just that I'm not used to that kind of prose. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed this book and therefore I can only recommend this, especially for people who are interested in politics/depression era South and about the morality of man.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Robert Penn Warren's prose is wonderful. His writing immediately impressed me. I only later learned that he also won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. He can really invoke a scene with his use of language, and his insights are often troubling true and funny at the same time.
Robert Penn Warren said that he "never intended it to be a book about politics", and I agree that although this book is told through a story of politics, it isn't about politics. This is a story about how we judge ourselves and others, and about how we each do or do not take responsibility for our actions. This story shows how intertwined our lives and actions are with others, and the cascading effects of individual decisions.
What worked for me: I enjoyed the narration through the character of Jack Burden. Jack is unlikable, and possibly an unreliable narrator. Jack doesn't like to be involved in controversy, and tries to mentally absolve himself from the disastrous consequences - because who was really responsible for the end result of a chain reaction? This is very much a story of southern politics in the 1920s-30s, yet it really feels completely timeless. I am sure current day politics look very similar, and we are currently still asking ourselves some of the very same questions about right vs. wrong, whether issues are black or white (or is there a gray area?), and about responsibility.
I read this right after reading The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. All of these books have some similar features, and it was interesting to read them together. All the Kings Men takes place at the exact same time as The Grapes of Wrath and it was interesting to read two very different stories taking place during the dust bowl and depression. Jack even takes a drive to California at one point in All the Kings Men...and it is a very different trip than that of the family in The Grapes of Wrath. This fact is even briefly mentioned by Jack. The questions that All The Kings Mean asks about right and wrong and personal choices are very much reflected in East of Eden.
What didn't work for me: While I did enjoy the prose of this book, in some places it did seem a bit over descriptive and I would catch myself doing a bit of skimming. This book was written in the 1940s about events in the 20s and 30s, so there is quite a bit of racism and the use of racial epithets. This makes the story very true to the time, but is not written about in a way that will feel comfortable for all readers today.
Robert Penn Warren said that he "never intended it to be a book about politics", and I agree that although this book is told through a story of politics, it isn't about politics. This is a story about how we judge ourselves and others, and about how we each do or do not take responsibility for our actions. This story shows how intertwined our lives and actions are with others, and the cascading effects of individual decisions.
What worked for me: I enjoyed the narration through the character of Jack Burden. Jack is unlikable, and possibly an unreliable narrator. Jack doesn't like to be involved in controversy, and tries to mentally absolve himself from the disastrous consequences - because who was really responsible for the end result of a chain reaction? This is very much a story of southern politics in the 1920s-30s, yet it really feels completely timeless. I am sure current day politics look very similar, and we are currently still asking ourselves some of the very same questions about right vs. wrong, whether issues are black or white (or is there a gray area?), and about responsibility.
I read this right after reading The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. All of these books have some similar features, and it was interesting to read them together. All the Kings Men takes place at the exact same time as The Grapes of Wrath and it was interesting to read two very different stories taking place during the dust bowl and depression. Jack even takes a drive to California at one point in All the Kings Men...and it is a very different trip than that of the family in The Grapes of Wrath. This fact is even briefly mentioned by Jack. The questions that All The Kings Mean asks about right and wrong and personal choices are very much reflected in East of Eden.
What didn't work for me: While I did enjoy the prose of this book, in some places it did seem a bit over descriptive and I would catch myself doing a bit of skimming. This book was written in the 1940s about events in the 20s and 30s, so there is quite a bit of racism and the use of racial epithets. This makes the story very true to the time, but is not written about in a way that will feel comfortable for all readers today.
I don't need to finish it no this is one of the top 10 books of all time. Master.
Book got lost in a move! Hope to come back to it once it’s in my possession again :)
Really interesting read. Some of the metaphors in the text get a bit lengthy for me. Much more about Jack Burden than Willie Stark (the Huey P. Long figure) then I would have thought. Could have done without the whole section on the history Jack's forefathers that he was researching for his dissertation.