Writing Violence And Its Ethical Connotations In All The King’s Men

Robert Penn Warren is one of the distinguished contemporary American men of letters.Since he entered into the literary world,he has made remarkable achievements in poetry with his sophisticated use of images,and his fiction has also attracted wide attention.All the King’s Men is the most influential and successful novel written by Warren.It was first published in 1946,and earned Warren the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1947.It has been well received and highly acclaimed by general readers,and has attracted great academic attention as well.Scholars at home and abroad have focused on its unique narrative techniques,and others have been devoted to the study of its themes,such as politics,trauma,religion,historical view and female independence.However,the issue of violence in the novel has rarely been explored.Therefore,this thesis will concentrate on this issue and also relate it with ethical issues in the novel.It will reveal the ethical crises that have caused the various forms of violence,the solution to violence implied in the novel and the implications of writing violence.The thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter One is Introduction.It briefly introduces Robert Penn Warren and his literary creation,makes a review of previous studies on Warren and All the King’s Men,and finally explains the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two analyzes the different kinds of violence exhibited in the novel and further discusses their root causes,that is,ethical crises.To be more specific,moral crisis evokes suicidal violence;conflicting political ethics result in mutual destruction;racial discrimination leads to racial violence;and anthropocentrism causes the degradation of nature.Chapter Three reveals the solution to violence implied in the novel.It is conveyed to readers that ethical empathy,human bonding and mutual care can prevent people from resorting to violence.Chapter Four delves into the ethical implications behind writing violence.It is implied in the novel that personal free will and virtues can help better the world.What’s more,the novel emphasizes the importance of spiritual home,the need to reconsider the impact of industrialization,and individuals’ and community’s ethical duties.Chapter Five summarizes the previous discussions in the thesis.It also restates the ethical message from the novel that violence can be reduced if people,both government officials and the ordinary people in the society,hold onto faith and virtue,resort to ethical care and take on their social responsibilities.