Ashton Post #3

All The King's Men Characters: Good to Bad

Male Characters
1. Adam Stanton - his community service and devotion to others makes him stand out among the rest as the top contributor to his society. He agreed to take on the job of director at Willie Talos Hospital despite his thick dislike for Willie. Although his devotion to his father is sometimes spotty, Stanton only hesitates in that relationship because he doesn't always agree. Just because one disagrees with someone doesn't mean they don't love them. Because Stanton has put others first and continues still to make them his priority is why he lands the top spot in the ranking.

2. Judge Irwin - he continues to be an honorable member of society, helping others both in his career as a judge and a friend to many. His persistence of truth and justice reflects his character's good morals and goals. He is just a solid person who is reliable and honest on all levels. The one slip up in his costly misjudgment in court is the only thing that keeps him from being #1.

3. Jack Burden - Although somewhat of a lost soul, Jack truly does have a good head and heart. Jack's differences in both thought and action tend to separate his character from the rest of the pack, but it is rather his ability to disengage and ignore the trauma around him that puts him at #3. Even when confronted with the idea of love, Jack was adamant that Anne fully admit to loving him. "'Don't you love me?' I demanded, ignoring what she had said...'God damn it don't you love me?'" This shows Jack's insecurity and unpredictability. He goes from being somewhat sweet on their outing, to being extremely confrontational and demanding something that maybe she didn't want to tell him. This is just another example of his fear controlling his life. Sometimes though, Jack is unable to step outside himself and analyze his surroundings, (such as when he is being taken advantage of) which causes him to miss out on friends, ideas, and ultimately important aspects of life such as fun, love, and innocence.

4. Willie Talos "The Boss" - His inspiring rags to riches story emulates overcoming hardship in his past, and that indicates that he sets his own bar very high. With his hard-earned background in law, Talos understands that handwork is crucial to success of any kind. In his relationships to other characters, he seems to act almost as a mentor in the fact that he makes his opinions clear, but doesn't force them upon them. All that being said, he has streaks of dishonesty, and his conniving nature makes him hard to trust. Also somewhat sarcastic, Talos's way of communication often comes off as mocking and offensive. When talking to the Doctor he says, "'You will no doubt want to see all the plans which have been drawn up...And you can start picking your staff. It's all your baby'" (362).

5. Sugar Boy - He's too plain and uninteresting. He has absolutely no self esteem, uniqueness, or desire to obtain those characteristics. Overall, he is boring and his lack of personality makes him hard to analyze as well as hard to like.

Female Characters
1. Sadie Burke - A strong woman, Sadie Burke stands out among the rest as opinionated, but fair. This combination of characteristics is unique to Burke and that is enough for her to hold the top spot. Being able to stand on her own two feet is something that not many other of the female characters seem to be able to do without turning kind of mean, selfish, or naive.

2. Lucy Talos - Although also a free spirited and opinionated woman, Lucy Talos has a confrontational way of dealing with her problems. Whenever discussing Willie she turns the conversation into somewhat of an argument. While she is understandably concerned while in the Doctor's office she refuses to listen to anybody else. "'No, he's not all right,' she repeated. 'And on't be. Unless you make him'" (321). This isn't the first time we've heard her forceful tone that only creates conflict. This is which is why she is not #1.

3. Lilly Littlepaugh - Sticking her neck out for her brother's "sin", Lilly is strong willed and perfectly capable of overcoming tremendous hardship. The loss of her brother in such a tragic way has made her stronger, and she is smart enough to know to not dwell to much on the horrible happenings, but use them to make her and her brother's legacies brighter. She can sometimes get overprotective of her goals though, and result to even lying and bribing her way to the front in society.

4. Lois - Lois is too unpredictable when it comes to her relationship with Jack. A relationship should be a compromise between all parties, and her inability to take Jack for what he is and cherish his persona suggests that she is controlling and stubborn. She isn't necessarily bitter, but the unwillingness to sway the little bit away from her way is unnecessarily frustrating to both her and Jack.

5. Annabelle Trice - With her long history of manipulation and bitterness, Annabelle Trice literally cheats people out of their dignity. She abuses her power by forcing suicide upon her husband, and doesn't seem to feel nearly as guilty about it as she should. Her short and cut-throat nature presents itself when she sells beloved Cass and meddles in numerous affairs with men. Her shady, sly, backstabbing nature causes her to land at the very bottom of the ranking list.