Point of View

All the King’s Men is told from Jack Burden’s point of view. Jack grew up as the wealthy son of an affluent family, so he understands the genteel ideas and traditions that typify the South. However, Jack also works digging up incriminating evidence about the governor’s opponents. He trades his life of sophistication for one of mistrust and greed. From this perspective, the reader sees both sides of the South from a knowledgeable source.

Setting

While the exact state is unknown, All the King’s Men takes place in the South between the 1920s and the 1930s. This time period is famous for its political corruption, and the novel takes this entire setting and places it in the South. Because the South wasn’t as progressive as the North, there was a larger divide between the new and old ways of life...