The idiosyncrasies of the characters and the South are immediately apparent when reading All The King's Men. The vivid insults and colorful language shows a culture that is dynamic and drastically different from California. Many phrases and settings evoke strikingly classic American scenes that strike me with a sort of fondness, even though I'm not from the south, the description of the hot drippy sun, soda machines and Cadillac in the beginning make me reminisce on a past that isn't even mine. Phrases like, "a big grandfather's clock, offered us with slow, small, individual pellets of time," (57) continue to remind me exactly when and where we are. Another example of this Southernness is the little nuggets of language. This is kind of a bad example but when he is writing in his notebook, he writes, "Abe Lincoln Type"after listening to a description of the man. Also, "Alex permitted himself the last luxury of irony," (25).
Regarding the narrator: Warren describes the internal, fear body within Jack Burden with vivid clarity near the beginning. He also describes the struggle man has about how he doesn't know if knowledge will be his savior or his downfall "He can't know if knowledge will save him or kill him," This exemplifies the stern, cynical view Burden has of the world. "There's the cold in your stomach, but you open the envelope, you have to open the envelope, for the end of man is to know." (13). He is very prideful in himself and hates being wrong.
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