Cass Mastern

In light of the recent assignment to find a literary article on All the King’s Men and the brief mention in class of Cass Mastern’s pivotal role, I have decided to share some of my views and analysis on the Cass Mastern story.

A superficial consideration of the Cass Mastern story might result in the conclusion that Cass Mastern is nothing more than an unrelated character. However, upon a deeper analysis of the anecdote, the reader can discover revelations about Jack Burden’s character and the overall theme of All the King’s Men. We must remember that Jack discusses the Cass Mastern story from a much later perspective than when Jack first researched the story. Jack even says, "I have said that Jack Burden could not put down the facts about Cass Mastern’s world because he did not know Cass Mastern…But I (who am what Jack Burden became) look back now, years later, and try to say why" (266). In this quotation, the reader can see that Jack understands that there is some connection between him and his great-uncle that his former self could not conceive. Still, at this point in the novel, Jack doesn’t understand what that connection was, and his initial ignorance of the story’s meaning is reflected in Jack’s acceptance of the Great Twitch theory. Warren, on the other hand, gives some clues in "Chapter IV" so that the readers will have some insight into the inclusion of Cass Mastern and his relation to Jack. One clue is that the chapter starts with Jack’s reflection on Willie’s desire to find a scandal that could ruin Judge Irwin. The other important part of the chapter is the pronouncement that "[Cass Mastern] learned that the world is like an enormous spider web and if you touch it, however lightly, at any point, the vibration ripples to the remotest perimeter and the drowsy spider feels the tingle and is drowsy no more but springs out to fling the gossamer coils about you who have touched the web and then inject the black, numbing poison under your hide" (266). As the story progresses, the reader, as well as Jack, soon understand the spider web theory. In his Great Twitch, Jack believed everything and everyone to be an independent entity, and that past events have little bearing on the present or future. Jack even believes that his actions will have little effect on the people around him. The spider web theory is the exact opposite of the Great Twitch, and Jack’s eventual acceptance of the spider web theory comes at the end of the novel when he realizes the consequences of his actions. The specific action that seems to have the biggest effect on the plot is Jack’s finding of Judge Irwin’s submission to bribery as it leads to the death of Judge Irwin and indirectly leads to the deaths of Willie Talos and Adam Stanton. It isn’t surprising then that the beginning of "Chapter IV" elaborates on Jack’s quest for the misdeeds of the judge. The reader then realizes that much of All the King’s Men had to do with the consequences that actions bring, and the Cass Mastern story becomes more than just a plot device in that Jack’s account partly reveals a theme that deals with the interconnection between all people. Warren’s insertion of the story proves to be even more effective when parallels between the characters All the King’s Men and characters of Jack’s dissertation are found. One very obvious parallel is between Cass Mastern and Jack Burden. Just as Cass Mastern eventually realizes the costs of his illegitimate affair, Jack Burden transforms and realizes the costs of his actions upon Judge Irwin, Adam Stanton, Willie Talos, Sadie Burke, Anne Stanton, and other, less central characters. The parallel between Jack Burden and Cass Mastern shows that Cass Mastern’s ultimate redemption foreshadows Jack’s rebirth and corresponding realization of the spider web theory. The reader knows that Jack’s finally appreciates Cass Mastern when Jack can open the parcel with "the name Mr. Jack Burden fading slowly" and finish his thesis. Perhaps, the fact that Mr. Jack Burden is fading slowly parallels Jack’s old self fading. An even less obvious parallel may be made between Willie Stark and Jefferson Davis, the politician that Cass Mastern and his brother were affiliated with. Such a connection reinforces the central role that politics plays in All the King’s Men and the similarities between the two tales in the novel.

Although I think that All the King’s Men could have still been a excellent book with the Cass Mastern story, the implicit ideas within the Cass Mastern story relate to the novel in a way that brilliantly highlights the theme.