Defined as the indefinite continued progress of existence, the concept of time has been created by the past, present, and future. In the novel All the King’s Men, Jack Burden shares the story of himself, in which he reveals knowledge about this concept of time, much of which he gained through his excursions into the past. In one of those excursions, Jack discovers the relationship between Annabelle Trice and Cass Mastern in the mid-1800s, undoubtedly comparable to his own relationship with Anne Stanton, which occurred much later in time. Through the women’s choices, the nature of each relationship was exposed; however, the outcome of each became defined by the reactions of those involved.
To begin, through their individual decisions, both Anne …show more content…
She searched for a new direction in her life but instead found one outside of her relationship with Jack, namely with Willie Stark. To Anne at the time, Willie presented the purpose and the ability to live that she wanted, two things that Jack did not have. For most of his life, Jack held views that led him to only go through life existing. He would turn away from any knowledge that he did not want to handle, which never gave him a purpose in life, as well. This drove Anne away because she wanted to live her life, not simply exist. But by driving Anne away, Jack understood that he therefore pushed her to Willie, as he says “I learned that Anne Stanton had become the mistress of Willie Stark, that somehow by an obscure and necessary logic I had handed her over to him” (Warren 311). Although, through her affair with Willie, Anne in turn pushed Jack to live his life and find purpose. She had inadvertently gotten Jack to realize that if he does not begin to truly live soon, he would lose the love of his life. Anne’s dissatisfaction with her life at the time, followed by her change of direction shows her understanding of the idea of the Great Twitch, and how although there may be things in life that she cannot control, it does not mean that she must be stagnant along the web of things; she would wait for Jack to find his direction in life, but she would not wait
To begin, through their individual decisions, both Anne …show more content…
She searched for a new direction in her life but instead found one outside of her relationship with Jack, namely with Willie Stark. To Anne at the time, Willie presented the purpose and the ability to live that she wanted, two things that Jack did not have. For most of his life, Jack held views that led him to only go through life existing. He would turn away from any knowledge that he did not want to handle, which never gave him a purpose in life, as well. This drove Anne away because she wanted to live her life, not simply exist. But by driving Anne away, Jack understood that he therefore pushed her to Willie, as he says “I learned that Anne Stanton had become the mistress of Willie Stark, that somehow by an obscure and necessary logic I had handed her over to him” (Warren 311). Although, through her affair with Willie, Anne in turn pushed Jack to live his life and find purpose. She had inadvertently gotten Jack to realize that if he does not begin to truly live soon, he would lose the love of his life. Anne’s dissatisfaction with her life at the time, followed by her change of direction shows her understanding of the idea of the Great Twitch, and how although there may be things in life that she cannot control, it does not mean that she must be stagnant along the web of things; she would wait for Jack to find his direction in life, but she would not wait