All the King's Men by William Penn Warren is a novel that explores political society and its influences. Like many politicians in modern society, many characters have qualities that seem ill-suited to the impression they have made. These ironies in All the King's Men reveal how characters have flaws, which can lead to critical consequences. Jack Burden, Adam Stanton, Judge Irwin and Willie Stark are characters with ironic traits. Jack Burden is known as the “student of history” ( Warren 372). The very fact that he is a historian is ironic, as he comes from an aristocratic, respectable family and grew up in Burden's Landing. However, Jack lacks the ambition to excel in life and works for Willie, despite this family's disapproval. He “not only lacks ambition, but all 'essential confidence' in himself” (Bloom 132). If he had ambition, he might have married Anne Stanton sooner, as Anne always told him to "go back to the state and finish" and then she will marry him "even before [he] gets [his] law degree" (448). Yet, Jack forced himself to be expelled from school. Even as a historian, Jack cannot deal with the new things he learns about the people with whom he is closely associated. After learning that Lois was actually a person and not "merely a juicy machine", she entered one of the Big Sleep series (Warren 459). After learning of Anne Stanton and Willie's affair, Jack temporarily fled to the West because "when [people] don't like whey [they] always go West" (Warren 464). Jack was unable to deal with this news that he had to leave to ease his mind. Furthermore, as a historian, he does not delve into his own past. All he knew about his father was that the scholar... in the middle of the paper... his characters. These ironic flaws contribute to their suffering throughout the novel. The flaws of Willie Stark, Adam Stanton, and Judge Irwin led to the ultimate punishment, death, while Jack Burden's flaws led to him temporarily losing his love, Anne Stanton. Works Cited Baker, Joseph E. “Irony in Fiction: 'All the King's Men. '”University English. vol. 9. JSTOR.Web. December 06, 2011.Bloom, Harold. "'The Case of the Upright Judge': The Nature of Truth in All the King's Men." "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren. Questa School. Network. December 06, 2011.Martin, Glenn. “Diction in Warren's 'All the King's Men'.” The English Journal. vol. 58.JSTOR. Network. December 06, 2011.Warren, Robert Penn. All the king's men. Orlando: Harcourt Inc., 1996. Wright, Andrew H. “Irony and Fiction.” The journal of aesthetics and art criticism.Vol.12.JSTOR. Network. 06 December. 2011.