Underlying Power

Willie Stark is a man that is portrayed in the beginning of the novel as having the most power. He dominates the town, and every citizen and follower of his listens intently to the speeches that he gives and every word that he speaks. Although Willie seems to be this dominating force that makes his own ideas and theories, he seems easily influenced by the important people surrounding him, and also in certain situations, he seems to have no control. Although these individuals are portrayed as being followers of Willie and beneath him; they are the ones influencing him and the ones showing more dominance.

            The first indicator of the underlying characters influencing Willie is his wife Lucy. Although Lucy is a woman, who in this timeframe has limited rights and powers, she encourages Willie to follow her own ideals. She “don’t much favor drinking” (26), and although she doesn’t push Willie to follow this, Willie does. Willie is meeting with Tiny and Jack in Slade’s bar, and even though they are all drinking beers, Willie will not because Lucy does not like it. Although Lucy is not there at that moment, he still follows her lead, even though she is a woman. Willie is also described as a “teacher’s pet” (21), while Lucy is the “school-teacher” (21). A teacher’s pet follows every rule and procedure that the teacher tells them. The boys were all giving Willie a tough time during this section of the novel because Lucy is the woman that is bossing Willie, when it should be the other way around. Even though Lucy is portrayed as a docile individual who is a doting wife, who follows her husband’s lead; she is secretly the woman who is running the show.

            Jack is another individual that influences Willie Stark. Jack Burden is Willie’s right hand man; a man that is supposed to help him make decisions, but not the one that actually makes the final decision. Jack tells Willie to follow the strategy of “making them mad. Even if they were made at [him].” (108). Willie had been going through the political process with the mind frame that the people wanted statistics and facts. He had been sprouting these around during his speeches and didn’t understand why the people did not enjoy his speeches. Jack was the first to tell Willie to change his strategy, and become more human and less mechanical during these. Willie listened and started doing as Jack said, and as soon as he started listening to Jack, he started becoming, little by little more popular in the votes. Willie is supposed to be the leader and make the final decisions once he’s heard others point of views; but instead he just listens to them and does not make a decision of his own.

            Willie is portrayed as a character with the most political power, and as being a “big man”. But without his main group of followers, including his wife and Jack, he would not be as powerful as he is in the town. Willie cannot make decisions for himself, and as soon as he was assisted, he became a more dominant leader. Willie went from “a sap” (112), to a political dominator who the entire town followed, and merely because of his underlying friends and influencers, who helped him achieve his success.