Black, White, Gray

                Willie Stark is a character that is difficult to categorize. It is difficult to tell whether his intentions are for the best, or if they are only a means of gaining a higher political standing. The other characters and Willie himself seem to have a difficult time categorizing him as well.

            People including Hugh and Jack, who have gone with Willie through his change see the difference, but they still have a hard time characterizing him. Jack has been an associate/ therapist/ friend to Willie since the beginning and has seen him change into the governor. There is no question that a change has occurred, but the question is, is it for the better or worse for the society? Jack reminisces about the past, “back when the Boss had been Willie Stark (208). Jack believes that the change has been for the worst. He remembers the babbling man that stood in front of the crowd and read them statistics. The man that Willie is now goes around blackmailing people, and then using them when he finds the time that he needs them for. Jack sees all of this and knows that Willie is changing for the worst. Jack encourages this from the start though. He wanted Willie to go out there and make the people mad. Certain aspects of the way that Willie does business seems to have no effect on Jack. Even though he has been working with Willie the longest, he cannot characterize the man he has become. Hugh, the Attorney General, on the other hand, sees Willies change as becoming soft. Hugh claims that Willie treated Byram White “like he was human, and that [Willie] was saving Byram’s hide” (203). Willie is blackmailing Byram and making him sign his own resignation letter for when Willie needs it for his to discharge Byram. Although Willie threatens Byram, he never actually takes away his job, but gives him the impression that he could take it away any day that he wants to. Hugh is exaserapted at how Willie could be so soft to Byram, and treat him like an individual human being. This is the exact opposite of what is expected. Hugh sees Willie as becoming soft with power, whereas Jack see’s him becoming a monster that Willie was trying to avoid from the start. Both men have been working with Willie for a long period of time, and neither can determine the man that Willie is becoming.

            Willie also seems confused about the route he is taking. Willie used to be considered a sap that had no idea about the running of politics, and was completely naïve to the concept of blackmailing people. He claimed that he did not want to turn out like Dr. Pillsbury and the sheriff, whom he used to oppose greatly. Now he is running the town the same way that they did; through fear tactics and other types of black mail. As soon as Willie was done blackmailing Byram, he claimed that he was going to build “a big, chromium-plated, formaldehyde-stinking free hospital” (209). Willie subconsciously understands that the way that he is running the government and the people is wrong, and tries to make up for it in many different ways, but it does not account for the fact that he is still black mailing people. Willie is his own self and he still appears to not understand his own motives and ways of business. Willie is also always described as wearing all different sorts of gray’s in all of his clothing. This gray characterizes how nothing is in black and white. Willie does not truly understand what is going on and who he is becoming and that is why he is constantly in the gray and why others always see him there. His material things such as a car (which is black) and house (white) appear to be things that he truly understands.

            Throughout the novel, it is not clearly understood what side of politics that Willie presents. Warren could be trying to depict how this is true of real life politics. Everyone is trying to achieve greatness through honesty, but that is not possible and they must resort to the dishonest side of politics.