Cass Mastern Dramatic Monologue

Do not be afraid of death
For it is our salvation.
To sleep in peace without a care
Allows us to finally be free
Of everything in our life around here.
Even when we sleep
Our minds wander on,
Keeping records of our actions and deeds,
No matter the time or moment when an event occurs
The mind never forgets
It only regrets,
Those memories are kept inside
Following you around until you lie in the ground.

Not all memories are bad
The mind helps to remember love, happiness and joy
Especially the times I spent with Annabelle
Sneaking to the summerhouse to find a wet kiss
Oh! How soft and gentle were those delicate lips.
Following the sweet flowery scent
We both could not resist,
Making love to my best friend’s wife at three
I never felt remorseful for the acts we preformed,
Until the nineteenth of March changed everything,
When my dear friend Duncan was shot by his own hand
How wrong I was to predict ahead.
Somehow I believed Annabelle would marry me
Instead she gave me Duncan’s wedding ring
A mortal chill crept upon me.

Soon after I left Lexington
When I returned home my slaves went free
Then I enlisted in the Confederacy.
Not as a commander in charge of men
A private I was until the end.
I never once fired a shot
I already killed one man and there was no need for more bloodshed.
From battles nearby and to the land of Tennessee
No bullet ever found me,
Until one day in Atlanta luck was upon me

And I got shot in the knee.

As the infectious wound grows
I don’t know what to do
Except to rejoice in the news.
Because I have lived to do no man good
I do not hope to be redeemed,
My only wish is for others to learn from my misery.

Allusion Paragraph

In All the King’s Men, Warren continually alludes to two Greek mythological characters: Cassandra, the fortune teller and Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, in order to emphasize the relationship of Cass Mastern and Jack Burden. After being cursed by the sun god Apollo, Cassandra was able to foretell the future, yet nobody believed her. The journal of Cass Mastern foretold warnings to Jack about the corruption of man, “For all men come naked into the world, and in prosperity man is prone to evil as the sparks fly upward.” At first Jack is unable to comprehend neither Cass’s motivations nor dark outlook toward man until eventually he learns through his own mistakes. Another reason Warren alludes to Greek mythology is to compare the relationship of Judge Irwin and Jack to Odysseus and Telemachus. According to myths, Telemachus was left in charge of Ithaca until his father Odysseus came home from war. However, when Odysseus returns home Telemachus is unable to recognize his father because he is in disguise. Eventually the truth is revealed and father and son are united once again. Similar to the Judge’s relationship with Jack, both sons are unable to find an identity for themselves because of the lack of a father figure in their lives.

Found Poem

The cold cathartic rain
Can not dampen my parade,
I shall finish my deed
Before the night ends,
And let the slick, sticky grass grow
On top of the newly dug hole.
What was once a pretty face
Now shines bright,
A face as smooth as marble in the moonlight
Sheathing him like a mummy
I quickly bury my prize.
Gathering my shovel and little tools,
I walk towards my cabin in the woods.
Thinking nothing of this heinous crime
I sit down and watch the sun rise.