In All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, the theme of the power of knowledge is predominant throughout Jack's journey through the great web of world. His path sheds light on his true self and with it the realization that he and everyone else on the web must take responsibility for their actions and the repercussions they cause. Through Jack's struggle with his inevitable rebirth, readers see how the power of knowledge affects Jack and everyone around him. Knowledge of love, knowledge of truth, and knowledge of self all have immense consequences for Warren's characters. This is how each of Warren's characters manages this power of knowledge that guides their lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Through Jack's narration, readers travel with him on his path to rebirth. Early in his adult life, Jack is “withdrawn in on himself,” trying to stay away from the knowledge and responsibilities of the outside world (Girault 62). Jack finds comfort in story and truth and “warmth in [his] not-knowing” (Warren 11-12) (Simmons 75). He blindly discovers facts for Governor Stark, without regard for consequences or responsibilities. “Jack loves the Truth, he loves it voraciously, with a precise, judicious, almost teasing devotion” (Bohner 87). He is focused on the "black line in the center" (Warren 1) of the highway, then hypnotized by the cones of light that project before him as he drives down the dark highway of his life (Bohner 87-88) . ). This guideline and guiding light is the direction of Jack's life and studies. However, it is this path and its love of truth and facts that brings knowledge to the surface and ultimately leads to its downfall and rebirth. The truth that Jack discovers about Judge Irwin ultimately causes the judge to commit suicide. When Jack tries to blackmail Judge Irwin by confronting him about the Littlepaugh scandal, he fails to see the consequences that could result. He has no idea that Irwin is his biological father; he simply carries out the will of the Boss, blindly following the path to the warm comfort of knowledge and truth. When Irwin commits suicide following his encounter with Jack, the chain of events that leads to Jack's rebirth begins2E Jack is awakened by his mother's "silver soprano cry" (Warren 348) in the middle of the night . This cry signifies the labor pains of Jack's rebirth about to come (Girault 61). Jack's mother is in despair over Irwin's death, and in her hysteria she accuses Jack of killing her father. At this moment, Jack realizes that Judge Irwin is his real father. It is knowledge that destroyed Judge Irwin, and it is this knowledge of Irwin's true identity that gives Jack his revelation and self-definition (61). Thanks to this new knowledge, Jack receives a father that he can accept in the person of Judge Irwin, and a new mother in the sense that he has discovered through his anguish that his mother is capable of love (61). His mother is no longer the vain and pretentious woman he thought she was, but she now has new meaning for him in his rebirth (61). Suddenly, "Jack's illusory world is shattered" and he is forced to realize that his actions have meaning and consequences, since he now knows that he is responsible for his father's death (63). . The truth that Jack unearths about Irwin also has big consequences for Adam and Anne Stanton. Throughout their lives, Adam and Anne havemaintained high moral standards thanks to their highly respected father, Governor Stanton. In Jack's discovery of Irwin, he also discovers that Governor Stanton was involved in these underhanded activities. When this knowledge is revealed to the Stanton children, their once high moral standards are shattered and they take part in actions they would not have originally considered. Adam, “the man of ideas” (Bohner 92) has an idealistic vision of the world, where morality and good deeds are essential (92). When his idealistic vision of his father is crushed, he is able to go against his old moral standards and become the head of Willie Stark's hospital. Adam's views originally contrasted with those of the boss, who was prone to the "hard" truth (93). The Boss believes that good must be generated from evil and that the end justifies the means. According to Adam's ideal vision, good deeds must be carried out through all actions. In the real world, however, these ideal actions do not always achieve a goal. For Anne, knowledge of her father's mistakes leads her to break previous moral standards and become Willie's mistress. After this affair with Willie, she reveals to Jack what allowed her to act as she did. "So you told me...you told me about my father. There was no reason not to do it then. After you told me" (Warren 325) . The power of knowledge is evident here, as Jack's simple revelation of the truth has caused him great anguish and lowered the moral status of the girl he loves, the girl he has tried to see as perfect all his life (Girault 62). Before this confrontation, when Jack first learns of Anne's affair with Willie, he is sent into a state of withdrawal and heads west. Alone in a hotel room in California, Jack attempts to return to his “uterine” state of innocence where Anne is still perfect in his eyes (62). Jack, however, must learn that this innocence is impossible to regain, because he cannot deny the knowledge he has just received. His movement westward is a symbol of his realization of this fact, a “step in his intellectual and spiritual development” (Bohner 91). Jack also realizes that he is responsible for changing Anne's view of the world, a consequence that Jack never envisaged, but which results from his blind search for the truth. Warren further explains the implications of Jack's journey west through Jack's observation of Adam's surgery on a schizophrenic patient. . The catatonic schizophrenia that the lobotomized patient experiences parallels Jack's attempts to return to the state of "not knowing" (Simmons 74). Symptoms of "a gradual withdrawal from reality, a sudden loss of animation, a tendency to remain still for long periods, some degree of emotional apathy, and periods of stupor alternating with those of intense activity” (74) are all evident in both cases. the patient's condition and Jack's “Big Sleep” states (74). In a sense, Jack's final removal to California is his own "lobotomy." Jack emerges in “good spirits,” socializing and remaining “perfectly happy” (78). Jack's mood parallels Adam's description of the lobotomized patient's healed state: "relaxed, cheerful, and friendly...He will be perfectly happy" (Warren 336). Joy, however, is a falsely induced feeling. The lobotomized patient is simply joyful because he has lost part of his brain, which has been replaced by another man's emotion (Simmons 78). Likewise, Jack's happiness simply results from his repressing his emotions and avoiding humanistic interpersonal relationships. He surrendersrealizes that by maintaining such a personal relationship with Anne, she was no longer a “machine” for him, but rather a human. The same goes for Lois, from whom Jack is forced to separate when he can no longer distinguish between “Lois the person” and “Lois the machine” (78-79). When Jack gets to know people in this way, it only brings him harm and suffering, leading him to his withdrawal states and the "Big Sleep". The other major event brought about by Jack's search for knowledge is the death of Willie. The chain reaction that leads to this event is complex and has very diverse causes. In the end, almost everyone, including Jack, is responsible. Ironically, it is Willie who sets in motion the series of bizarre events that lead to his demise. Because Willie asks Jack to discover information to blackmail Judge Irwin, he indirectly caused Anne to have an affair with him. One of the consequences of this affair is the anger of Sadie Burke. With her irritation at another Willie case that doesn't concern her, Sadie sees the opportunity she and Tiny Duffy have been waiting for, the opportunity to kill Willie Stark. She takes action and conveys her powerful knowledge of Anne's relationship with Adam, with the help of a twisted truth from Duffy. They tell Adam that Willie's affair with Anne is the only reason he was offered the job as head of Willie's hospital. Adam is furious and tells Anne that he "[won't] pimp for [his] whore" (Warren 391). Adam then acts as planned and, symbolically standing under his father's imposing statue, seriously injures Willie Stark, only to be immediately shot dead by Sugar Boy. These tragic events were all triggered by the immense power of knowledge. Knowledge led Anne to Willie, knowledge drove Sadie over the edge, knowledge drove Adam to kill Willie, and the same knowledge caused Adam's death. “The end of man is to know” (Warren 9). The climax of Jack's rebirth occurs when he is given the chance to get revenge on Tiny Duffy. In the basement of a library, knowing that Sugar Boy's gun is tucked under his shoulder, ready for action, Jack refuses to give Sugar Boy the knowledge he needs to lead him to kill Tiny. This decision clearly demonstrates that Jack realized that he was wrong to think that his actions were “neither good nor bad, but meaningless” (Girault 63). By not falling to Tiny's level, he boldly enters "the convulsion of the world and the horrible responsibility of Time" (Warren 438). Here, everything is linked, and the power and limits of human knowledge are known, and man knows the moral responsibility he bears because of his actions (Girault 66). All of these knowledges, truths and actions are linked together in the spider web presented in Cass Mastern's journal. Through the diary, Warren illustrates his belief that all actions send effects to the “furthest perimeter” (Warren 188) of the “fabric of the world” (178). Jack reveals Cass's past and advances this theory of responsibility that he must learn to accept through his journey and rebirth (Cottrell 118). Jack's first reaction to this theory is to put it aside, to "put aside the newspapers and put three-by-five cards in a box" (118). Suddenly, Jack is immersed in his journey, with Cass Mastern's words etched in his memory (121). At first, Jack cannot accept responsibility or even the fact that his actions have such an effect; however, through his experiences, he must accept the spider's web theory. The synchronicity between Cass's revelations and Jack's life emerges as Jack begins to see the, 1946, 1996.