.png)
 |
| Mary Elizabeth Young |
By Mary Elizabeth Young, Class of 2016
“‘Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something”’ (286). From early in the novel, this seems to be Willie Stark’s guiding political principle and in chapter five, it becomes the battle cry for Jack Burden as he sets out on his second job of historical research, the ‘“Case of the Upright Judge’” (286). Burden decides to start his pursuit by visiting his father, the Scholarly Attorney. His father refuses to divulge any information, which only leads Burden to deduce that there is indeed something for worth searching. However, aside from concluding that he is on the right path, Jack Burden gains something else from his visit with his father. The Attorney has a sort of father-son relationship with an “unfortunate” named George that juxtaposes his relationship with Jack, his own son. As Jack witnesses his father’s interaction with George he notes the contrasts between their relationship and his own with the Attorney, but perhaps also gains insight into the type of man he would have been had his father been present.
The Attorney serves as a father figure for George the “unfortunate.” This is first prevalent when Jack’s father brings breadcrumbs for George. When Jack understands that the crumbs are for George, he comments, “‘Well, he must be pretty unfortunate if that’s what he’s going to eat”’ (294). To this, his father replies, ‘”He eats some of it…[but] he uses it for work…George’s work is very clever ”’ (295). Like a father, the Attorney not only insures George’s basic needs are met, i.e., food, but he also supports George’s continued artistic pursuits. However, for Jack, the Attorney was never there. In fact he was only “there” until Jack was six and “then he wasn’t there” (171). Jack never mentions that the Attorney fulfilled any of his basic needs in the six years he was present, let alone cultivate his passions, as he does with George.
Furthermore, the Attorney possesses a certain awareness of George and his situation that he does not Jack. According to the Attorney, the death of George’s wife caused George a sort of physical paralysis after which he left his job at the Circus. While the Attorney assures Jack that George recovered from the paralysis, he notes that George still ‘“is not well’” (298). The Attorney then proceeds to catalog the oddities that George possesses, such as “‘[h]e must always be on the floor”’(298). He knows so much about George, a bum with whom he has no biological connection, while with Jack he was absent. He was not there when Jack left his thesis or his wife or when he experienced depression and “The Great Sleeps.” Jack experienced those without the support and council of a father.
But perhaps what best serves to exemplify the contrast between the Attorney’s relationship with George and his with Jack is the scene with the chocolate. After the Attorney finishes telling George’s story to Jack, he notices the story has upset George. Repentant, “The old man broke off a piece of chocolate and placed it between the [George’s] expectant lips” (300). Jack bitterly notes the disparity as he recalls his own childhood interactions with his father: “Nobody was leaning over me to give me chocolate” (301).
There exist many contrasts between the Attorney’s relationship with George and his with Jack. With George he is a “real father,” who cares for his son, is aware of his son, and is there to help his son through difficult times. With Jack he is absent. The chocolate is merely symbolic of all that Jack lacked in his father’s absence and all that George knows in his presence. Arguably, Jack and George became the men they are because of the type relationship each has or had with the Attorney. Considering Jack is working for the Governor while George remains an “unfortunate,” it begs the question: Is Jack better off having never known a true father or is that exactly what is the matter with his life?
Mary Elizabeth Young, of Louisville, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying English, Spanish and political science.